Fate?
by tortoislume
Summary: Jellal-centric fic on my take of what his perspective might be throughout what is shown in the series. Starting with the Tower of Heaven and working from there. WARNING: May get a little dark. I do not own Fairy Tail, it belongs to Hiro Mashima. My first fanfic!
1. The Tower of Heaven

Chapter 1

Jellal Fernandes had never asked for much. So why was it him that was stuck on this boat, being carted off to an unknown destination where the only thing he was certain was that pain and torture were inevitable? All he wanted was to wake up from this nightmare, back in his mother's arms…

_His mother…_

He wasn't sure how long he had been on this boat for. Two hours? Five days? Everything felt so raw and gruesome, he was in shock and unable to gage such mundane elements as time passing.

All he remembered was _that_ sight. His mother's chest being ripped open by a sword held by some cultist in a strange mask. He couldn't even tell which one of his captors had been the one to take his mother's life. _Does that make me a bad son? _He wondered. _Surely I should have his face visible in my mind forever, surely I should want revenge._

But he was just a ten year old boy whose life had been ripped apart in a matter of minutes. He hadn't had time to think what he should or shouldn't remember during the span of time it took these zealots to invade his village and reach his home...then _that_ happened and he just stood there, shocked, not believing his own senses. _She couldn't be dead. Not just like that. She was all I had…_

He thought of his mother. Her blue hair, blue eyes, and facial markings that were born on to every member in their village. Each one differed with each individual. He had always been told that they held the power to determine that individual's fate, in fact there were many fortune tellers there who dedicated their lives to the practice of deciphering the strange markings. His mother had always scoffed whenever they passed by the fortune tellers, insisting that there was no set way to decipher them, as each individual mark had its own way of being interpreted. Jellal agreed with this statement - it was rare for the predictions made to actually come true, though that never stopped the locals from trying.

Thinking about his village made his thoughts turn dark again. Most of them were dead. He hadn't seen any be taken away with him. It was possible that he was the only one left…

He felt the warmth of his tears drip on to his folded legs.

They were already a rare race of people, often persecuted for their abnormal features. Why was fate so disgustingly cruel? His mother's life had been wrought with turmoil she hadn't deserved, like his father.

Though no one in the village ever explicitly explained to him the circumstances of his conception, he had heard enough to infer what kind of man his father was, and despise him. After hearing whispers between two elder ladies in the market about how they pitied his mother for having been given to _that_ man for the night because she was the prettiest unwed girl while his party traveled through town, he had run to his mother in tears asking what they meant. She had told him that his father was a very powerful, influential man, and that while they may not have made him out of love, that didn't mean she would ever love him any less than she would had he been born in the happiest of marriages.

He had always appreciated how honest his mother had always been with him. It showed him that she respected his autonomy. He felt the tears on his lap fall harder, at an increasing rate.

After she told him how much she loved him, she would say that her love did come at a price; a promise. She made him promise that when and if he ever felt that he loved someone, no matter who it was, that he would make sure that they knew how much he cared for them. She told him she would never forgive him if he was too cowardly to dedicate himself to them fully. After this she went on an explanation of how she wanted him to have the kind of relationship she never came around to having; having someone to love absolutely, getting married, maybe having children… the whole package. She used to joke sometimes that maybe the right man for her was still out there somewhere, just waiting to run into her, fall desperately in love and sweep her off her feet. But Jellal could tell from her expression and tone when she talked about such things that she didn't fully believe them. It saddened him then to think that his mother had such unmet dreams. It saddened him even more now to know that they would never come true.

Jellal was pulled from his reverie by the sound of the boat's door being lifted, and one of the masked madmen standing in front of it, ready to address the collection of prisoners.

This one was comedically fat, Jellal noted. _I would remember if he was the one to take mom's life._

"Welcome vermin" stated the fat man. "to the Tower of Heaven" Jellal noticed the shape of some grotesque structure behind the man, with strange winding metal pipes and jagged spiked jutting out. It was clearly in the midst of being built.

"You lot will have the honour of serving the great Lord Zeref. From now onward, you will work to bring about his resurrection. We have graciously decided to spare your lives for now, providing you with both food AND a place to sleep. Be grateful, as disobedience will be met with the most severe of punishments" The fat man cackled as he ended his speech, as though the thought of torturing traumatized slaves brought him blissful pleasure and amusement.

Guards surrounded the prisoners, forcing them to stand and march out the door onto the small island where the ominous structure resided. They were led inside it to concrete cells, and each given a small portion of stale bread. One of the guards then locked them in the cell, talking to them from outside.

"Eat up while you can. We're giving you the next few hours to get used to this place. Don't get used to such privileged treatment though, and make sure to thank us for bestowing upon you the honour of taking part in the construction of the Tower of Heaven - whoever takes part in this will end up in Heaven! Now doesn't that sound nice?"

He walked away in a fit of giggles before anyone could ask any questions, though it didn't look like anyone had any. Most of the people sharing his cell were in a state of shock, some crying, some looking too mortified to cry. A young woman in the corner had vomited from the anxiety.

Jellal curled up in a ball on the cold, dirty floor. _Please let this be a dream _he thought. _Please let me wake up and find that this was all a horrible, horrible nightmare._


	2. Colour

**Chapter 2**

It wasn't a dream. Jellal had woken up from his sleep, his eyes raw from crying, to the sound of barking from disgusting, huge, dog-like creatures with sharp teeth and spiked collars.

"Time to get to work, slaves!" Yelled one of the guards. Whichever one this one was, Jellal still couldn't tell, though he wasn't the fat one.

"We're getting the new shipment of workers in three days!" Yelled another from across the enclosure.

_Great. _Thought Jellal. _More people ripped from their homes._

The rest of the day was spent being ordered around, learning to haul materials thrice his size and using it to build the abomination the slaves were stolen for.

Finally, at night, the exhausted prisoners were left to rot in their cells in peace. Jellal noticed an elderly man in the corner, telling some listeners about his time in a town called Magnolia.

The fellow occupants in their cell had taken to calling him Grandpa Rob, because he was treating each of his inmates as family.

"Back in Magnolia, I belonged to one of the most legendary wizarding guilds of all time: Fairy Tail" Grandpa Rob told his audience. "In that guild, we didn't necessarily have the brightest members, or very obedient ones for that matter. Many of them weren't even very strong at magic. But that never mattered to us. The bonds we formed and shared there give me light even in the darkest places. It never mattered where we came from, our hearts were all the same. I don't expect you to believe me, but one of my closest friends there was from a different dimension." _A different dimension?_ Thought Jellal. _I can't even imagine one of those existing. I wonder if I will ever meet someone from a different world - _but his thoughts were interrupted by what Grandpa Rob said next.

" ...so if you are feeling disheartened by our circumstances, just remember the faces of those you love, and the bonds you share. Would they want for you to give up hope? I think not! They would want you to carry on, striving to live. If we die trying to escape here, at least we will die with fire in our hearts. At least we will have tried...that being said, I think we should all try to plan things out before trying anything that could get us killed."

_Bonds...I used to have a bond with my mother. But she's dead now. _Thought Jellal abysmally. But, as per Grandpa Rob's advice, he envisioned her telling him that she loved him again. Seeing her face in his mind's eye, he wondered what advice she would give to him in this situation. "_Don't give up yet_" she told him. "_You still have so much to experience in this world. I have so much hope for the man you will become. You can get through this_"

_She's right_. He thought. _I promise that I won't give up so easily. I promise that I'll try - no, that I WILL make it out of here alive._

As he lay down, he began to think of ways to escape this hell he had been brought to, and fell asleep to dreams of freedom.

The next few days passed in the same manner as the previous; the same taxing work, the same lashings if anyone made a mistake, the same pathetically small, unsatisfying food portions. But Jellal continued his mantra in his mind, over and over. _I will not die here. I will earn my freedom. I will not die here. I will earn my freedom…_

On the dawn of Jellal's fourth day of captivity, the prisoners awoke to the sound of ship horns. "They're here with the new shipment of workers!" Yelled one of the guards.

The doors to the building opened and an influx of people entered. Most of this lot of slaves looked to be children. The sight of so many people being taken by force to this dark underworld made him feel queasy. Or perhaps that was just his body's reaction to days of malnutrition and hard labour.

The doors to their cell were opened and a portion of the new haul of prisoners were lead inside. Their breakfast of stale bread was handed out, and the new recruits were told to get some rest for when their shift started in a few hours. The guards then left to section off the rest of the prisoners, leaving the occupants of his cell to their own devices.

Jellal looked around at the new people brought in. As he noted before, most of them were children.

Something bright caught his eye just then. A vibrant shade of scarlet that contrasted boldly against the grey stone and shady darkness of the prison cell. Something about it made Jellal's stomach feel light and his heart felt like it was fluttering in his chest. _What is this?_ He mused.

A moment later, he realized that the scarlet shade belonged to one of the prisoners - a little girl, who looked about his age, was huddled in the corner, her vibrant hair shaking with her sobs.

He didn't understand why, but seeing her there like that brought on a myriad of emotions, none of which he understood. He felt horrified that such an innocent looking girl had been subjected to the cruelty of being brought here. He felt saddened over how tragic she looked - someone as cute and young as her shouldn't have had to face such turmoil in their lifetime. He felt nervous, because the way she was crying made him want to go comfort her, but the thought of talking to her made his heart race and feel like it was the most impossible feat in the world. He also felt guilty, because seeing her made him feel oddly happy to be here. Not because he enjoyed the situation in the slightest - he didn't - but because being here in this context, they were bound to have to interact with one another, and the prospect of seeing her every day made him excited. Surely he should not feel grateful for being here. Surely he was a bad and selfish person for feeling happy, even in the slightest, about them being stuck here together.

_How am I feeling such a surge of emotions at once?_ Jellal wondered. It was like the scarlet girl had just awakened bright colours in his life after days of nothing but gray melancholy and black horror.

As he was trying to come to terms with his influx of emotions, he noticed Grandpa Rob approaching the scarlet girl.

"There there" Grandpa Rob said, placing a hand on her shoulder "I know that you feel lost and alone right now, and it is true that this is a dismal situation we are in. But all of us here are in it together. We must not lose our hope for the future, we must believe that we can get through this together." The little girl turned around to face Grandpa Rob, and Jellal's heart broke again at the sight of her big, dark eyes filled with tears. Then his heart stopped entirely as she smiled through her sadness. "I think I can do that" She replied to Grandpa Rob.

"Good" He replied. "You can call me Grandpa Rob if you like - everyone else here does. Now dear, if you don't mind me asking, what is your name?"

"It's Erza" She replied.

_Erza..._Thought Jellal. Just thinking about her name made his heart begin to stutter again. He thought back to his mother, to the promise that he had made to her. _Was this what she meant by loving someone._ He glanced over at Erza again, and wondered what it would be like to dedicate himself to her fully, though he wasn't entirely sure what that meant. _Still..._He thought. _That doesn't sound so bad._

He wasn't able to make use of the extra few hours of sleep before their work began. He felt too jittery after seeing her...her scarlet hair..._I want to touch it. I want to run my fingers through it and smell it._

He spent his time glancing back at the girl while the others all slept. He didn't want to sleep, if he did then he might wake up to discover it had all been a dream.

_Her name is Erza...Erza. My scarlet Erza. __I'll make sure we get out of this together._


	3. Introductions

Jellal made sure to keep the redhead in sight throughout their labour time. He kept hoping to catch her eye and offer a supportive smile, but she seemed to be in her own little world. He also noticed that he was not alone in eyeing the girl; another boy, one who had come in with Erza's batch of prisoners kept glancing at her as well. He had medium skin and dark hair, and could either be older than them or just large for his age.

Seeing this other boy looking at Erza made Jellal's stomach turn in annoyance. He had to remind himself that he had no right to feel annoyed at this kid - he was probably just a friend who knew her before being kidnapped, he had seen them talking before and deduced as much. Still, it irked him that they already had some kind of bond established, it meant that he would probably have to be extra assertive to gain her full attention.

When their round of construction was done for the day, the prisoners began to file a line heading back to their cells. Jellal noted how Erza seemed so caught up in her own little world, she didn't notice the jagged rock at her bare feet that she was bound to step on and injure herself. Jellal rushed forward and reached Erza just as she began to stumble, grabbing her around the waist to keep her upright. Erza gasped in shock, turning to face Jellal, starting to say "Thank you" when their eyes met for the first time. She did a double take and blushed. The action was so endearing it made Jellal's heart sing.

"Watch yourself there, the guards here don't exactly help with injuries, or give you breaks if you're hurt. We wouldn't want you to have to work while hurt now would we?" Jellal offered with a smile. The girl turned even more red and said "No, thanks very much" with a small smile.

"I'm Jellal by the way" he said. "I'm Erza" she replied. Jellal wanted to dance and skip around because of how well their first conversation was going, though he suspected that would probably get him in trouble with the guards, and might make him look strange to Erza.

They walked back to their cell together in silence. Jellal noticed when they entered the cell that the dark-haired boy frowned upon seeing them enter together. _I see how it is_. He thought. _A love rival, huh?_

The boy approach the pair. "Are you okay Erza? I thought I heard you stumble back there" he asked. "I'm fine Simon, don't worry about me" she responded with a small smile. "I'm Jellal. You're Simon I assume?" Jellal asked. _What was that old proverb? Oh yeah, keep your friends close, keep your love rivals closer._

"Yeah" said Simon briskly, with a small frown. A few other children joined the trio's conversation just then, two boys and a girl. They all looked to be two to three years younger than them.

"Hey guys, my name is Wally, this is Sho and Milliana." Said the black haired boy, gesturing to a blond boy and brown haired girl respectively. "We figured that since we're all stuck here together, maybe we could play games. Grandpa Rob said that it might help get us through this."

"Sure! Sounds like fun!" said Jellal, the younger kids smiling at his enthusiasm. _If we regularly play together when we can, I'll be able to constantly be around Erza!_

"Well I'm game!" exerted Jellal's love rival. "My name's Simon Mikazuchi. And the girl over there is Erza." _Trying to assert that you know her well enough to do introductions for her, huh? We'll see about that._

"Nice to meet yah. I'm Wally Buchanan. So what about you, Mr. Tattoo?" Questioned the black haired boy. He had a very pointy nose. Jellal frowned. "It's a birthmark" This seemed to surprise the children, though none said anything. "My name's Jellal Fernandes" he continued.

"Whoa, that's a tough one. Don't get sore if I forget it." laughed Wally. "I won't have a problem with yours." Jellal replied. "Wally Buchanan huh? It's kinda boring" He could tell that Wally was the kind of person who enjoyed banter and making fun of eachother.

Wally turned to Erza next."Alright red, you're Erza what?"

"Nothing, that's all I got. Just plain old Erza" She smiled as she spoke, but Jellal could tell there was sadness behind it. Her scarlet hair framed her face so adorably. _I wish I could think of a way to touch it. _Then he had an idea. "Well you gotta have a last name" he told Erza with his eyebrows raised. He remembered something his Mom had told him about how marrying someone meant giving a girl a last name or something. He had been playing with his telescope-lacrima, so he hadn't been entirely attentive, but he knew it was something like that. He walked over to Erza and finally, after a day of resisting, gave in to his desire and ran his fingers through her scarlet locks.

Erza gasped and jumped at the sudden contact. "What's the big idea?"She asked, evidently freaked out. "You're hair is pretty, that's all" Jellal assured her. _All of her is very pretty_. Erza stilled and began to blush. "You think so?" She asked him. He didn't reply. "I got it! How about we make your last name Scarlet?" _Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes. _

"You gotta be kidding me! You can't just make up whatever name you want!" Yelled a clearly agitated Simon. But Erza interrupted him. "I like that a lot! So now, I'll be Erza Scarlet." Jellal smiled. It was getting increasingly tough not smirk at Simon. He promised himself right then that he would always be the bigger person in their rivalry over Erza. Jellal could somehow sense that that was what Erza would appreciate more than him acting possessive.

Still, if there was anything he had learned since laying eyes on Erza, it was that he was no saint. _Hah!_ He thought. _Take that Simon! You may have known her longer and had more chances, but Erza and I are practically already married. _And though he had a very incomplete idea of what marriage was, and almost no idea of how to know once you're married, Jellal decided to let himself fall asleep to the idea that he and Erza were going to be together...Whatever that meant.


	4. Flavour

**AN: Sorry for the long chapter, it took awhile to write with University final projects and whatnot. I don't own Fairy Tail, though I wish I did. Enjoy :)**

**Chapter 4**

The next few months passed with little variation in lifestyle for the prisoners, other than instead of sleeping alone during their free time, the group of kids played games that they knew or had made up together. Jellal had also made sure to spend as much time as possible around Erza, and also shared with his new friends his ambition of escaping slavery. That confession had marked the beginning of their plotting potential ways to try to escape - without risking their lives in the process. They weren't the only ones doing so. As the months passed, more prisoners attempted to escape, and were subsequently put to death for trying. It didn't take long for Jellal to reach the conclusion that their only hope for freedom was to band together and fight their captors. The problem was that this would not be an easy feat; most of the prisoners at the Tower of Heaven were convinced that they would spend the remainder of their lives there, and that attempting to do otherwise was suicide.

Jellal couldn't blame them for having this perspective - just last week, a very fast little boy had tried to run away, only to have it shown that the creepy giant dogs with absurdly large, spiky teeth could in fact fly, using strange, bat-like wings. The guards had tortured him, like they did to all who tried to escape. It was lucky that he was young, and therefore less likely to be killed. Not because the cultists had any moral issue with murdering children, but because from a purely economic standpoint, being younger meant more years of service building the disgusting tower.

It was another day of grueling work after countless others. The slaves didn't get days off. They didn't even know how long they had been there for. The adults in their cell had been trying to count and estimated it had been roughly eight months since Erza's batch of slaves had been brought in, though it seemed to be getting harder and harder to keep track without anything to write on.

Jellal was currently working on building one of the tower's outer decks on the sixth floor. The seventh floor was where one of the senior cult leaders resided. Jellal learned to tell him apart by his clothing being more ostentatious and his mask bearing a different design than the others. He knew this man had left to oversee a shipment of materials two days ago from a conversation he had overheard between guards, and that he wasn't expected back for another week.

Jellal couldn't help but notice as he stacked bricks and mortar to form a railing for the veranda that the already-built deck above him hosted an abundant fruit garden - he could spy multiple apple trees, sprouts, pea stocks and potted strawberry plants. _I always really loved apples...it's been a long time since I've had one…_

The months of stale bread and watery stews containing only leftovers had left him starved for anything remotely flavorful. He felt his mouth water as he looked at an apple tree on the man's extravagant deck. He check behind him. _None of the guards are looking...Its not too far to climb up by stepping on what I've built so far._

Before he could talk himself out of doing it, Jellal leveraged himself on top of the fencing he'd built and jumped up to the fancy veranda. He checked around once he was up, making sure no one had noticed him and that nobody was inside the room attached to the deck, then grabbed an apple from one of the trees and brought it close to inspect. If he had seen this apple back at home before coming to this hellhole, he probably would have thrown it out for being underripe and bearing a few brown marks. But here, after so little variation and quality in his meals, he devoured it whole, core included. It tasted sweet and tart and succulent. He really had missed the taste of fresh food. He sandwiched himself into a little nook in between the plants and the outer railing of the deck as he finished his snack. _This place actually has a really nice view from here. _He thought as he watched the sunset disappear beyond the horizon. The seventh floor was high enough that he could block the building materials and the rest of the island from view, just looking out to the endless water. He noted how there was room for two people in his little hiding nook in the garden, and how it was optimal for watching the view. _I should bring Erza here. _He thought. _The colours of the dusk reminds me of her hair. _

Jellal allowed himself a few minutes of blissful daydreaming about his pretty crush. It wasn't just her hair that attracted him to her - though that was something he was able to single out easily in this dreary place; it was everything about her combined. Her big brown eyes, button nose and the way she looked at him through her eyelashes sometimes that drove him crazy, even though he tried to act normal. The way she always helped out the younger kids, and tried to lead people when they seemed to have lost their way. She had developed so much since first coming here and crying every night; she always tried to work extra hard during their labour time so that the others wouldn't have to do as much. Jellal admired every part of her. She was outstandingly strong - both physically and emotionally. Her extra work payed off as she grew muscle and endurance at an alarming rate. Even when the others didn't seem convinced that they would escape, she never lost faith in Jellal's resolve. Every time she stood by him, especially when it was Simon that contested his plans, Jellal felt his heart dance in his chest.

He figured it was time for him to get out of the area before one of the guards found him sneaking around in places he shouldn't be, so he jumped down from the veranda and made his way back to the other workers as they finished up the day's shift, making sure to leave that sixth floor railing unfinished. He would have to show this secret area to Erza tomorrow.

That evening, they played a game that Sho suggested, called "I spy".

"I spy with my little eye, something that is...red." Said Simon on his turn. "Erza's hair" Said Jellal, rolling his eyes. "This game doesn't really work when everything around us a pretty much either grey or brown."

"Yeah" Said Sho "We should probably keep it to those two colours then" "This game's gonna make me sad if we do that" Sighed Millianna. "Yeah," Agreed Wally. "Why don't we play something a bit more dandy?" The black haired boy had recently decided that "dandy" was his favourite adjective. It got annoying fast. "Like what?" Asked Erza. "How about 'Would you rather'?" Suggested Millianna. The group agreed and began the first round.

"Milli, would you rather...have a cat that is green or a cat that is orange?" Questioned Wally. "I don't know!" Replied a wide-eyed Millianna. "They both sound KAWAII!" She mused in a fit of giggles. "Well there goes that game" Simon commented. "C'mon Millianna" Complained Sho. "You need to answer one or the other or else there's no point in playing" "To be honest I really don't feel like playing anymore." Stated a sullen looking Simon. "Why don't we see if Grandpa Rob has any stories to share?" Suggested Sho. The others all agreed and went to ask Grandpa Rob to help amuse them.

"Now now...That's just not fair - how am I supposed to turn down all these young, pleading faces?" He laughed. "So you'll tell us?!" Sho exclaimed. Grandpa Rob sighed. "Well… I suppose I have no choice"

He went on to recite a tail about a fairy-like girl named Mavis Vermillion and her quest to find real live fairies after her home had been taken away, and all she had was one friend and many books to occupy her time - these books were mostly about magic, so she learned much about its ways and origins. Then came the bounty hunters to her little island and well...Jellal hadn't paid too much attention to the rest - he was far too occupied staring at Erza and the transfixed expression on her face.

"...And finally, Warrod, Yuriy, Precht and Mavis finished making the guildhall, and opened the finest guild for mages across Fiore: Fairy Tail" Grandpa Rob finally finished. All the other children had fallen asleep during his storytelling - only Jellal and Erza remained awake. He couldn't help but notice how Erza looked more passionate and excited than he had seen her throughout the duration of their stay at the tower. "I wanna be a wizard some day" She stated confidently. Jellal smiled softly - wizardry did sound pretty cool. Maybe they could be wizards together.

"Funny you should say that" Remarked Grandpa Rob. "I wasn't going to mention it in front of the others… but seeing as they are asleep now…" He trailed off distractedly, checking that all the other kids were really asleep. "The two of you struck me by surprise when I first saw you. As a wizard, I am able to sense, to a degree, magical energy. Though my true powers were stolen from me long ago, leaving me nearly defenseless, my magical intuition is still very much intact." He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. "The two of you contain a great deal of magical energy - a frighteningly large amount, in fact, for children your age. If the two of you chose, I think you have the potential to become very strong wizards - maybe even Wizard Saints. This is both a very exciting and good thing, and something you must be very wary of. Many mages - especially those who experience traumatic events in their childhood - have lost their way and end up using their magic to perform horrible, horrible deeds. Please, I implore you, be mindful of your magical power, should you choose to pursue it, and ALWAYS make sure to question your motives for using it." Grandpa Rob finished his explanation.

Jellal felt very excited at Rob's observations. _Both Erza and I have the makings of wizards? Awesome!_ The two of them exchanged thrilled glaces, before going off to fall asleep.

The next day, Jellal made sure that no one went near to the sixth floor balcony he had been working on. He worked for hours nearby, keeping an eye on Erza the whole time. Finally, when their shift had only an hour or so to go, Jellal walked up to Erza and took her hand. He knew the guards generally took a little break time toward the end of the day, especially when their superior was away. Erza blushed at his action. There was a guard nearby so Jellal made sure to say within earshot "Hey Erza, can you help me out with building the railings over here? I couldn't get it all done yesterday." Looking dumbfounded, she said "Sure" and the pair made their way to his little refuge nook.

When they got to the deck, Jellal checked to make sure no one was watching, then turned to Erza. "Quick, while no one is looking, let's hop up on to the ledge above. I found a little hideout where we can relax for a bit." Erza looked surprised, but didn't deny Jellal's helping hand guiding her to the floor above. He knew she was perfectly capable of crossing the distance herself, but this gave him an excuse to touch her. He hoisted himself up next, and the two of them looked around at the fancy fruit garden.

"Wow, what is this place?" Questioned Erza. "Its the room of that boss guy who's gone away for a few days." Explained Jellal. "The one with the extra creepy mask?" "Yeah."

Jellal watched as Erza inspected the garden carefully. She smiled at the pretty flowers, then stopped, looking hypnotized at the strawberry plants. "I really like strawberries" She whispered. "Yeah?" Jellal smiled and reached to pick a strawberry from the nearest plant for her. "No! What if someone finds out and you get in trouble for stealing from the leader's garden?" She asked, scared. "It's fine, I'm sure they'd never notice a couple strawberries missing. Besides, I'd bet these hadn't even sprouted before the guy left. He has too much to do to count each individual strawberry every day." Jellal didn't even care if he did get caught stealing the fruit; the look of sheer bliss that crossed Erza's face as she bit into the strawberry was worth any punishment he could face. As seemed to be a habit when he was around her, Jellal caught himself dazing out staring at her face. _I really should learn to control myself better._

He plucked an apple from a tree and sat down with Erza in the nook as she grabbed another strawberry. The two munched looking out across the endless water. "I wonder what kind of area lies across the water. I couldn't see anything while I was being brought here." Mused Jellal. "I don't know if its exactly nearby, but the place Simon and I are from, Rosemary Village, isn't so far away. It didn't take long for us to be shipped here, and its right on the water too." Erza reminisced. "It was a really beautiful place. All kinds of people lived there. Even an orphan like me was welcomed and looked after...though I never had a real home I guess." She looked down with a sad smile. Jellal felt a pang in his heart. _So Erza's been all alone her entire life? I thought that my background was painful, but at least I had my Mom growing up._

"I lost my Mom when these freaks raided my village. She was the only family I ever had, so I guess we're both left alone in the world." Jellal explained. He felt nervous about what he really wanted to say next, but pushed through it. "If you want, when we escape this place, we could be family." He felt himself blush intensely. "But...how would we do that?" Asked a confused looking Erza. "Well...I...I heard t-that if you get married then you're family with someone even when you aren't related...so... wecoulddosomethinglikethat" Jellal rushed the last part out, his breathing uneven and his face turning progressively redder and redder. Erza's face now matched her hair "M-m-m-married?" She asked, her voice quivering.

"I...I don't know much about it...or...how you're supposed to know when it happens...but...I really like the idea of having someone who's definitely going to be there for you, no matter what. Most of the others that we've been imprisoned with here have _someone_ at home to go back to if they escape...but...since neither of us do...I figured…""Jellal" Erza interrupted him, refusing to make eye contact. "I don't think marriage is what you think it is. I...I think it means more than promising to be each other's family." Jellal frowned and cocked his head to the side. "Huh? Then what does it mean?" "It...uh, well, I noticed with all the people who were married in my vill-" But Jellal heard footsteps just then and covered her mouth with his hand, quieting her. They heard two guards talking. "I could have sworn that I heard voices coming from over here." Said one. "Well we'll just check it out and make sure that none of the prisoners are causing mischief."

Jellal didn't hesitate. He pushed Erza down to the floor and lay on top of her, pinning her down and obscuring both of them from view should anyone look up at the deck. They both held their breath as the footsteps came closer. "Doesn't look like anyone's here" Said the second guard who had spoken. "They could be hiding on the deck up there" Suggested the first one. Jellal and Erza looked at each other, eyes wide and hearts pounding.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Laughed the second. "If our slaves had that kind of audacity, they'd be running away rather than pulling a suicidal stunt just to hang out in the Captain's quarters. Everyone knows what kind of punishment we like to dish out." He continued to bark with laughter.

They heard their footsteps fading away, but stayed frozen where they were out of fear and paranoia. About a minute after the guards had left, Jellal felt his mind shift away from their immediate danger to the position they were in. They were pressed against one another completely, and Jellal would be lying if he said he didn't _really really_ like it. Something about it just felt so _right_ and comforting. He wanted to try rubbing their bodies together, but wasn't sure about how Erza would react. Instead, he settled for looking into her eyes. _This is nice too_. He thought. He liked looking at Erza. His eyes felt hooded as he looked into her face. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes were only half open, the look she gave him was just so...so..._I don't know any words to describe it._ All he knew was that it was making his blood boil, and race, and travel down through his body…

Jellal jumped up abruptly. Something odd was happening to him. His penis was beginning to do that weird thing. He'd had it happen twice before, but that was before coming here. Besides, both those times were during his sleep, and when he'd asked his mother what was happening to him, she had laughed a little, told him it was perfectly normal, and said that she would explain exactly what was going on when he got older, insisting that he didn't need to know it all now. _But now she's gone, and I have no idea what to do about this. _Jellal was growing redder by the second. _What if Erza sees it?_ He thought as he looked down and, low and behold, saw a rather obvious tent in his pants. He wasn't sure what to make of it. Sure, his mother had told him it was natural, but he still felt embarrassed and knew that he DEFINITELY did not want Erza to see what was going on with him. Luckily, when he turned and glanced at her, she was looking away, bright red, probably due to the position they had been in.

"I'll jump down first to make sure the coast is clear." Jellal suggested. "Okay." She responded. Jellal began to maneuver towards the edge of the veranda, making sure that he never faced or showed his profile to Erza. Once he had landed, he was faced with another dilemma: Should he try to catch Erza? He wanted to, and it would be chivalrous, but then he would risk her seeing what was going on with him. _WHY ISN'T THIS THING GOING AWAY?! _Jellal thought in anguish. Before he had made up his mind however, Erza had already hopped down gracefully. Jellal made a start. _I can't let her in front or beside me or she might see. _He walked fast towards where the rest of the workers were gathering now their shift was ending. It was good that those guards weren't anywhere nearby. _Finally, the thing seems to be calming down._ Thought a relieved Jellal, noticing that he little problem had begun to settle.

When they finally reached their cell with the rest of the group, Jellal really wasn't in the mood to socialize with people. _What if it happens again?_ He wondered. _Maybe I'll ask Grandpa Rob about it tomorrow._ He thought as he fell asleep trying as hard as he could, and utterly failing, to not imagine the feeling and vision of Erza underneath him.


	5. The Light

Jellal never had the chance to talk with Grandpa Rob about it the next day, or in the weeks that followed. Part of it was that whenever he was around him, his cellmates were too. _I definitely want it to be a VERY private conversation. _He supposed the only way he'd ever be able to talk to Rob about it would be if they were given an opportunity to talk alone, which hadn't really happened throughout their stay. But Jellal felt too embarrassed to bring it up to begin with, so he wasn't sure how to get information on what was happening to his body.

About four weeks after Jellal and Erza's little escapade on the veranda, the guards implemented a new mechanism for oppressing the prisoners. A buck toothed man in a guard's uniform came in to explain to them how they worked. "Here's a state-of-the-art suppressant machine that tracks your actions and decides when to stop you. It includes a shock mechanism for when the device notices that you are not performing your duty. You will put them on every time you leave this cell and take them off when you return. I call them shackle-bots." He grinned widely, emphasizing his disproportionately large front teeth. Jellal looked at the machine. The bot that floated in the air above the prisoners heads had a blinking light. He wondered how smart the machine was, and how powerful its restraints were.

"We've decided to adopt these machines to ensure maximum productivity in reviving our god, Zeref. Our latest reports state that efficiency has gone down in recent months, which is why we are introducing these." His crude smile grew. "Keep in mind that should you work at too slow a rate, or go anywhere you shouldn't be" His eyes met Jellal's at that moment and his heart froze. _There's no way he could know…_"Then the bots are programmed to issue a taser-like shockwave that will most likely knock you unconscious. Should that blow be so severe that it detracts from your work productivity, we will have to take you as a sacrifice for our God. As we continue to construct the R-System, more lives are needed to fuel its power." He ended with a giggle. _The guards here all sure seem to enjoy the suffering of others. _Jellal thought bitterly. He looked at the frightened faces around him, and stopped when his eyes met Erza's. They had barely talked since that incident, and even avoided eye contact with one another. Instead of talking directly, they would converse only in conversations with their friends as buffers. Jellal wasn't sure what the root of this avoidance was, but he figured it probably had something to do with his mentioning marriage. Admittedly, the fact that he had gotten hard again multiple times in the past few weeks didn't help his shame. The best he could do was lie on his stomach and pinch himself while thinking about what probably happened to all their cellmates that had gone missing. He found that pain and disgust were the fastest remedies to that issue.

Their first experience using the shackle-bots began that day. While he couldn't feel the restraint of the bot directly, he could see the electric chains that connected him to the bot. Hours passed as usual, as he and Sho worked beside one another with their pickaxes to mine rocks to be shaped into bricks, not too far away from their cell. Suddenly Sho let out an audible gasp. "Ouch!" he said, wincing. Jellal looked over and saw that Sho's left hand had a large gash in it where crimson blood was oozing out. "Did you hurt yourself?" Jellal asked. "Yeah, that rock I was holding turned out to be a lot sharper than I thought" He replied. Sho put his pickaxe into his pocket to concentrate on stemming the blood leaking from his hand. In the blink of an eye, Sho lit up with electric light, screaming as he was tasered, then fell to the ground unconscious. Jellal stood there a moment in horror, then tried to move towards his comrade.

"Sho!" Jellal looked over and saw Erza rushing towards them, a worried look on her face. Just as she drew near them, and Jellal got close to their friend, their restraints snapped them back painfully. Jellal felt like his arm was almost ripped off. _So this is how these things work, huh?_

With both rendered immobile, a guard approached them chortling at the sight. "Well well, someone was slacking off eh?" "Please sir!" Erza pleaded. "Sho needs some help. He needs to be treated for his wound and rest!" Jellal smiled lightly at Erza's compassion. She really had taken the younger kids under her wing, especially Sho and Millianna. "Help and rest, huh?" considered the guard. "Well, I suppose I could be so altruistic...if you receive punishment in his place for slacking off." he said smirking. "I'll do it!" said Jellal. "Me too!" agreed Erza. The guard gave a small chortle. "Very well then, we'll leave him for awhile to rest then allow someone to carry him back to his cell at the end of the day. As for you two, you're good at carrying heavy materials, right?" They both nodded uncertainly, and his smile grew. "We have been needing someone to clean out the sacrifice room." He laughed loudly and called over another guard to help bring them. The electric chains pulled them roughly, following the guards to their destination. Jellal glanced at Erza and saw the same fear in her eyes that he was feeling. _Please don't let this place be what I think it is._

It was. As they were lead up the stairs to the highest chamber, a disgusting stench filled the air. Jellal tried to hold his breath to fend against it, but the odor just grew stronger and stronger. When the guards opened the door, they were flooded with a wave of the smell which was even more pungent. But what they saw inside made the stench take a back seat in his mind.

There were bodies everywhere. The room was dimly lit by several large lacrima crystals lining the walls, each emitting an eery glow… and containing one to four preserved rest of the room was strewn with carcasses in varying states of decay. _There are so many...how can anyone do something like this? Surely if there is a God, like the one they serve, it would try to stop this madness! So many people, and I've probably met or seen a lot of them...how can they do stuff that's just so pure evil?_ Jellal's mind was racing. What if he recognized some of them? He didn't want to see. He just wanted to go back to the cell and shut his eyes tight. Opening his eyes, he noticed how each of the bodies seemed to have been treated differently post-mortem. Some had been cut up, their entrails spreading across the floor like spilled mush, rotting slowly. Some looked to have been badly burned, their skin and faces beyond recognition. The worst were those that had been preserved but for large holes through their bodies - it almost looked like they were still alive but for their vital organs being scooped out and splayed across the room. All of them were crawling with maggots. The smell of death permeated the air even when Jellal tried to close his eyes.

"The two of you will work to clean this place to make room for the upcoming sacrifices." Stated the first guard while the other left the room. "You will be locked in here until midnight tonight. If you do not clean them all by that time then we will take the bodies and store them in your cell with you while you sleep. Oh, and we'd have to take that little blonde kid you were protecting as a sacrifice, since you wouldn't have fulfilled your punishment." He let out a little giggle "Now wouldn't that be fun?"

The second guard re-entered, wheeling in a few wagons. "You will place the bodies in these. I want this place spick and span by the time you are done. We will take off your shackle-bots for now, they need to be used for the next shift of workers. But don't worry, you won't be able to escape here, and I dare say we've given you enough incentive to work efficiently. Oh, and don't forget about the bodies inside the lacrimas." He ended with a laugh, slamming the door behind him and locking them in, leaving them with nothing but their hands to work with.

The instant the door was shut, Jellal fell to his knees and started retching out the tiny morsels of dried bread and water he had consumed earlier. The smell of death was overpowering him, making him sick to his very core. After his stomach was empty, he continued dry heaving, trying his best to get out the immense revulsion. _Why do we have to be here? Why is there no one getting rid of these sadistic bastards?_ He thought in his anguish. _I hate them all._ He thought as he felt himself go dizzy from exertion. He felt like he was going to pass out.

"Jellal!" cried Erza as she caught him from falling. She rested his head against her shoulder. "I really hate it" he mumbled "How they always laugh at our pain. Its like we're just things to play with for them. I couldn't even imagine treating an animal I hate this way, nevermind another human.""I agree" she said. Jellal could feel her shaking beneath him. _She's frightened, but putting on a brave face for me._

"You rest awhile, I'll get started on cleaning up." Erza said, trying to lay him down gently. "No! Erza, you shouldn't even have to look at this stuff. I'll clean it all myself." He insisted. He could tell how much she didn't want to touch any of the bodies. "Don't be silly Jellal" she said with a soft smile. "We're in this together. Besides, we don't have enough time for only one of us to do the work. We need it cleaned by midnight." Jellal still looked uneasy about Erza having to touch those corpses overflowing with maggots. "Think of it this way" she continued. "We're both working to save Sho. Now I know we will both be able to get through this if we just keep that in mind. This is for our nakama." Her words made him smile despite their situation. "You're right" _Typical Erza, always putting her comrades first. _He thought. _I can't protect her the way I want to - that's just not who she is. Yet that somehow just makes me admire her even more._

So without further delay, the two set to work on collecting the bodies and heaving them into the wagons. They started out with the parts that were the most decayed. They smelled worse, but were less recognizable and therefore easier to deal with. Jellal tried hard to numb himself as much as possible to the sensations around him. He tried to ignore that the garbled grume in his hands had once been part of a living person. After a while it got gradually easier to ignore the nausea in his stomach and terror in his brain, and just concentrate on making it back and forth from the wagons to the remains and back again.

The real problem came when they got to the corpses that had been scooped out. The miscellaneous mash of organs wasn't so bad, they could just pretend that it was something else. But the bodies that still sported their owner's faces were the worst. The first one Jellal approached was a former cellmate of theirs - the young woman who had been vomiting from anxiety their first day - her name was Mara. _So this is what happened to her when she disappeared two weeks ago. _Jellal tried to take ahold of her body, but as he lifted it, the hole that went through her abdomen gave out on the sides and she broke in half. Jellal had to hold his breath and scrunch up his eyes to bring her upper half to the amassing pile of gore. After he'd brought the first half, he looked back at Erza who was carrying another corpse on her back, her eyes shut in anguish as she heaved it towards the destination. He could tell she was suffering, same as him. If anything, her suffering made him feel worse than his own, if that were possible.

"We're nearing the end, Erza." He said, trying to comfort her. "Good." came her short reply. It was true that they were almost finished, but the bodies that remained all had distinct faces, and they hadn't started on the ones inside the lacrimas.

They decided to work together with the rest, flipping them over so they were face-down and didn't have their milky eyes looking past them blankly.

Finally, all that was left were those in the lacrimas. Jellal wasn't sure how to go about getting them out - the lacrimas looked pretty solid to him. He walked up to one and felt the surface. _It definitely feels solid, but then how did they get them in?_

He pressed down hard on the crystal, and, to his surprise, his hand penetrated the surface. He was not prepared for the shocking pain that came with it. He screamed and retracted his hand. It felt like a billion needles trying to get inside his skin all at once. The hand he had brought out again felt like it had been dipped in acid, raw and stinging, yet there was no visible impact to it.

"Are you okay?" Asked Erza. "Yeah, just wasn't prepared for the sensation of touching inside this thing I guess." He replied. He braced himself, then tried again. This time he did all he could to ignore the pain. Reaching towards the corpse encased in the crystal, he grabbed the woman's arm and slowly pulled her out of the confine. It was like pulling someone through molasses. Finally, with some help from Erza, they pulled the woman's body free from the lacrima. It landed on top of Erza, who gave a squeal before Jellal wrenched it from her and flipped her on her front. Together they brought it to the wagon that wasn't already overflowing with various bodily remains. The rest they did with Erza pushing from behind and Jellal pulling from in front. Somehow, the poisonous-feeling pain from the lacrimas helped to numb them even further. They both seemed to be in a state of incomplete consciousness, too traumatized to even treat it like they would any normal situation. They were so immersed in their task that they managed to finish up relatively quickly, leaving them with time to wait before the guards allowed them to leave.

When they finally hauled the final corpse of a large man that had taken both their strength to move, Erza collapsed to the ground, shaking. Jellal understood, part of him wanted to do the exact same thing, yet he found he no longer knew how to move. _I just feel so...numb. Like I'm in a dream right now. Like this room is just too disgusting to be real._

He looked down at Erza, and had to force his body to move, holding her trembling form. She leaned into him instantly, something which under normal circumstances would leave him beyond elated. Not right now though. He didn't feel anything right now - he was beyond the threshold for emotion.

And so they sat there together, in between the wagons they had filled and the door, that only exit from this torture chamber. Erza's arms encircling his neck, her face buried in his chest as he held her around the waist. It was hard to say how time was passing, he had lost all ability to pay attention to it when everything just felt empty. They felt sticky, and Jellal didn't want to think about the substances gluing their clothes and skin together.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the door creaked open, revealing the two guards that had brought them there.

"Ah, all done are we? Good children. And look! You even had some cuddling time - aren't we kind for setting you two up?" The guard cackled. Had anyone else said that, Jellal would normally blush but secretly feel euphoric over them getting the impression that he and Erza were sweet on each other. Now however, he couldn't feel anything...anything but..._I hate these monsters. What would they know about anything to do with people and how they interact? They've already forsaken all pretense of their humanity. They...they deserve the same kind of punishments they dish out. _

He wanted them all dead. Every single person who had enabled and perpetuated this horrific community.

Lost in his thoughts, he barely noticed being lead out. In the light, it became evident that both children were coated in various brown and red substances that smelled like putrid meat. He didn't want to think of the words for what it actually was.

The guards forced them to strip down and hosed them off. Jellal normally would have gone into a state of embarrassment and curiosity standing next to a naked Erza, but right now, he didn't even feel okay glancing at her. He felt too dead inside to do it. The guards finished washing them of the blood and entrails, giving them new clothes after. By new, they were new to Jellal and Erza, rather than brand new. They certainly looked and smelt like they'd been worn by someone else. Jellal didn't want to ask the question of what happened to their previous owners; he was pretty sure he already knew.

They were lead back to the cell, both in a state of semi-consciousness, so shocked and unsure of how to deal with this experience. Many of their inmates were awake, waiting for them.

Sho ran up to them straight away when they entered, leading them to their group of friends. "You guys are alright? Thank goodness! I was so worried about you. Everyone said that you had taken punishment for me when I was knocked out. I felt horrible not being able to do anything about it. I'm so glad you're okay!" He rambled on as their other friends greeted them as well, stating how glad they were that the pair had turned up okay.

"I was scared that they would do to you what they did to Grandpa Rob that time" Said Millianna. She was referring to a few months prior when Rob had disappeared for a week and a half after trying to sneak extra food to one of the kids. He had come back much worse for wear, and insisted he would rather not discuss his experience. Jellal was sure that the old man had only survived because of his amicable and polite acquiesce with the guards' commands. _I don't know if I could go along with their orders so easily...not after what I've seen. _He thought darkly.

"So uhh..." Started Sho, looking around nervously to check whether anyone was in earshot. "I came across something, or rather, made a plan...y'know...for _escaping_" Jellal's eyes widened at Sho's statement.

"When I was lying there, I noticed some stuff about the structure of this building. Looking around, I saw the layout of the drainage system in this area. It goes in a kind of downward spiral, then stops nearby this cell, if you go by the patterns of the drains. The way this room is built...the only place that the pipes could leave would be through the wall to the right of us. That's the only area big enough, and the drains stop after it. That means, if we can get through, then we can cut into the pipes and escape through the sewers." Jellal was speechless. _Could this really mean...can we find a way out?_

"And that's not all" Sho continued. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the pickaxe he had been using during their work hours. "The guards completely forgot to check my pockets while I was passed out. They left this with me. I think we can use it to chisel through the wall, and maybe even the pipe itself" He explained excitedly. _Well it certainly sounds possible. _

"All we gotta do is keep at it every night and hide the passage behind the wooden crates in here during the day. The guards shouldn't notice. They barely spend any time in this place - they wouldn't notice that a crate moved a few inches" Said Wally with a wink.

"You...you really think we'll be able to get out of here?" Asked Erza. "I think it will work. I have faith in this plan, and our ability to follow through with it." Chimed in Simon. Jellal felt like he had exceeded his emotional cap for the next month...and yet…"I agree. We should definitely take this risk. Any more time in this place than absolutely necessary is wasting our lives." Said Jellal defiantly. The others all smiled and gave a quiet cheer.

"Then we should get started tomorrow!" Sho exclaimed excitedly. "C'mon, I need to go to sleep now, you all should be real dandy and join me" Said Wally with a yawn. The others all joined him, _except for Erza_ Jellal noted.

"I...I don't think that I'll be able to sleep after the things we saw tonight" She said with a small tremble. "Though Sho's plan really gives me hope. I think we might just be able to do it" "Yeah, I feel the same way. You were really brave today." Replied Jellal. "Not really...you were. But I guess you always are" Said Erza with a small blush. Jellal raised his eyebrows. "I mean, you always do such a good job of leading us all, its like you know for sure that we'll all get through this no matter what. You give me so much hope" Erza explained, looking at the ground. She was shaking again he noticed. "I just can't get those images out of my head" She said, tears beginning to well up in her big, dark eyes. "I don't want to explain to the others what we saw. I don't want them to feel this same fear" She began to full on cry. Jellal acted on instinct and grabbed her, holding her close. "Don't worry" He cooed. "We don't have to tell them anything. We have a plan to get out of here and we're going to succeed." He wasn't sure where this strength was coming from, but it somehow made him feel better too. He held Erza gently and after a long duration, she dozed off. Jellal looked at the girl in his arms, her face, her hair. _Of course, she's what gives me this power, this resolve. She is my light at the end of this dark tunnel. _He thought back to those dark thoughts that had gone through his mind earlier, of how each guard deserved death and defilement. _I don't need to waste my energy on that kind of hate. What I need to do is put as much distance as possible between us and those sadistic bastards. _And with that in mind, he finally got some shut-eye before morning.

The next few weeks were spent working diligently as possible during the day (in order to avoid suspicion and any potential visits from the guards to their cell), and working hard on their escape route at night. When the others asked about the punishment Jellal and Erza had gone through, they just said that they'd had cleanup duty. _Well that's partially true I suppose. _Simon managed to get his hands on a small shovel as well, so they took turns in twos chiseling out the brick and concrete that separated them from the sewer pipe. Night after night, they toiled hard. They had grown callouses, sometimes waking up with their hands bleeding, but none of them cared. Jellal was pretty sure that all of them would sacrifice their hands completely if it meant their escape. _Quit thinking such gruesome thoughts. That's only going to make you remember that night._ He thought with a shiver.

The sacrifice room had played a large role in his night terrors throughout the past weeks. Just the knowledge that that room existed, let alone in the same building, was enough to make Jellal begin to shiver and sweat. But he tried his best to keep it at the back of his mind, and put all his energy towards ensuring that they would escape safely. Each day, they dug further into the brittle wall. They had to hide the pile of dust and rubble behind another wooden crate to keep it out the way, along with using one to hide the hole they were creating each day. The further they dug, the more Jellal's hope grew. _We're going to make it out of here!_

Finally, after many weeks of little sleep and a lot of labour, they reached the pipe and began working around it to find a way to pierce through. Jellal was the one to test out creating a hole in it. While the pickaxe Sho had snuck in made a dent, it also created a lot of noise. _If the guards hear, they'll catch us for sure. _He thought.

"Hey guys, we're going to have to find a way to mute the sound of hammering through the metal here. Any ideas?" He asked. "Here." Said Simon. "I'll wrap my shirt around it, then use as much pressure as possible to break through" Jellal watched as Simon wrapped his garment around the tool and took hold of one of the pointy ends. He managed to pierce through by putting all his weight on top, puncturing a small hole with little noise. Next, he took the small shovel and placed the pointy end in the hole, turning it in circles to widen the gap with as little noise as possible. It grew larger with his force. _We're finally going to be free! _Jellal thought. _Though I wish it had been me to break through it instead of Simon. Why does he have to be so beastly anyway?_ But Jellal didn't linger on his envy for long; he was too excited that they finally would be able to escape.

He turned to the others "It's ready! We should get going before the guards hear anything."

Sho turned to the rest of the group. "Over here, c'mon, hurry up!" Wally frowned at him "Jeez, we gotta try and be quiet you dummy!" he reminded him. Millianna frowned back at Wally. "Hey! You're being even louder than he is right now." Wally blushed at that. Jellal had noticed that Wally seemed to be developing feelings for Millianna, but he wasn't completely sure. "Huh. You're right, sorry about that." Wally apologized.

Simon turned to Erza, who didn't seem to be moving. "Come on Erza, we've gotta move quick or the guards will catch us." Erza looked up at him "Yeah." She nodded. "I know...I want to go...but I'm scared. Because… I know what happened to all the other kids. They're dead…" Jellal felt his heart break for knew exactly what was going through her mind at this moment. "There's nothing to worry about, we're gonna be fine." He assured her.

"Oh, Jellal!" Erza jumped a little, surprised by his proximity. He heard Simon give a disgruntled "tisk" in the background, but ignored it. He looked Erza in the eye. "We're finally getting back our freedom, our future, our dreams." He held out his hand for Erza to take. _We're finally leaving this place together. _ "Let's go, okay?" She smiled softly and took ahold of his offered hand. "Yeah" She responded.

Suddenly, they heard footsteps, all of them stood frozen, then tried to rush towards their escape but stopped dead. "Well well well...what do we have here?" Came the voice of that obese guard. _No. This cannot be happening. This CANNOT happen! _Jellal thought in anguish. _We're so close..._Yet this was just the beginning.


	6. Taken

**AN: Hey all, thanks for waiting. Sorry that this chapter won't be as long as the last few, it has been tough to find the time to rewatch the ToH arc to get the dialogue right etc...Anyway, hope you enjoy :)**

The guards backed them against the wall, as more and more joined. The children all began to cower, and Jellal could sense their fear growing. He placed himself in front of everyone. _I have to do whatever it takes to keep us safe. _Though he had no idea how he could accomplish that.

The super fat guard spoke first "Did you brats really think that you could get away that easily? Ah, you're all gonna be punished big time for trying to pull one over on us." The bucktoothed guard interceded him "Now now, normally I'd agree with you but we cannot afford any more construction delays on the R-System. If you tell us who came up with your escape plan then we'll just take them and leave the rest of you alone. That's pretty nice of us don't you think?" Jellal hated them all. _We were so close! Why did it all have to go wrong like this?_

"Speak up! Which one of you was it?" The obese man demanded. Jellal heard shuffling behind him. _None of us will rat out Sho - I know it! _Just then, Jellal heard a voice behind him, to the left. _It's Erza "_I was-" _She's going to try to take Sho's place! I CAN'T allow that!_

"It was me! I came up with our escape plan. It was all me." He exclaimed, hoping beyond hope that they would believe him.

The fat guard smiled "Oohh?" but his bucktoothed companion once again interrupted him. "Hmmm, well aren't you brave? But I know it wasn't you. It was the redhead!" Jellal felt his stomach drop. _No! I can't let this happen! I'll do anything! Anything but this!_

"Take her away!" The human blob of lard ordered. Jellal tried to cry out "NO! It wasn't her I swear it was my idea! She didn't do anything!" as a guard picked Erza up and began carrying her away. He knew it was fruitless, yet he couldn't just let them take her. _She means so much to me...I can't let this happen. _But it was happening, and Jellal was completely powerless.

"Yeah! Let her go"' Simon joined in with his pleas. He was having a panic attack. _Anything would be better than this. She...I can't let them take her. She's everything to me._ The guards turned. "That's enough!" The fat guard yelled, lifting his magic staff and shooting a bolt of electrocution at the two of them. Simon staggered from the hit and nearly fell, but Jellal caught him. He looked up to see Erza being hauled off by the guards. "Please, don't worry about me. Cuz I'll be okay." Once again, she was smiling through her tears. The sight of her being taken away like that broke Jellal inside. _I'll do anything...__**anything**_ _to stop this. _"ERZA!" Jellal screamed in torment. He wasn't even aware of how much he was shaking.

Erza tilted her head to the side, trying to console her comrades. "It's just like you said Jellal. There's nothing to be afraid of." Jellal was shaking. _Of course she's trying to put on a brave face for us - to stop us from worrying. Can't she see how futile that is? I know she's afraid. I NEED to stop this! _"Erza…THEY WON'T GET AWAY WITH THIS!" He howled, though it seemed his threat landed on deaf ears, as when the fat guard heard his plight, he merely giggled and smirked. _There they go again; laughing at our distress. _Jellal was in a fit of rage; he was going to break down any second, he needed to run; to do _something_ that could help Erza. He couldn't just sit here in their cell.

It took quite some time after the guards had carried Erza away for Jellal to stop shaking. He wasn't sure what to do, and hated himself for not being able to come up with a plan to get Erza back as soon as possible. _Every second I waste here trying to think about it is another moment she has to suffer at the hands of those sadistic creeps. But...if I keep thinking like this, being distracted by my emotions, it's going to take even longer for me to get her back. _So he stilled himself from his pacing that he hadn't realized he was doing, sat down, took a few deep breaths and tried to clear his head. He mulled over any and every possible way of saving Erza, but each seemed more dangerous than the last for both her and him. He soon realized there was really only one course of action to take. _But...I can't let the others get involved, it's too risky. _

He turned to his friends, who he hadn't noticed were staring at him with worried looks. Sho and Millianna were crying, and Simon looked like he was trying his best to hold back tears, still wincing from his injuries. Before any of them could say anything, he spoke up. "I need for you guys to all do me a big favour. When the mealtime guard comes in here with the food, I'm going to attack him" His friends all gasped. "I need for all of you to promise me that you won't help out. This is something I have to do on my own." Instantly his friends began to argue against his decision. "That's no fair!" Yelled Wally. "We all want to save Erza just as much as you do - don't take this all on yourself - that's suicide!" "I have to!" Jellal cut him off. "C'mon, Erza would never forgive any of us if we all got in trouble. Don't worry, I have a plan, and I really need for you all to have faith in me. I promise that no matter what it takes, I will bring Erza back" He stated with determination. "This way, I can be more stealthy, and if I am caught, it's not all our necks on the line. Please guys, I really need for you to do this. I can't do it any other way!" He finished with tears in his eyes. His friends all looked at him, shocked. Jellal's rationale in actuality was a bit more convoluted; every other person here had someone to go back to, while no one outside the tower would be left behind to miss them if he or Erza died. _That's why I have to save her, so that we can be there for each other. _

"I… I don't like it, but I understand" Said Sho, quivering through his tears. "I'm not strong enough to be of any real use to you, I would only get in the way of saving sister…" Jellal looked away, trying not to flinch. He hated making the others think that he was doing this alone because they weren't good enough, but if this would save them, he figured hurting their feelings a little would be worth it in the long run.

"Thank you for understanding. When I take down the guard, I need you all to guarantee that you won't help me take him down, and that you won't leave this cell. If one of the guards comes back and sees you acting up, they'll be sure to punish you." He avoided eye contact with them throughout the course of his speech. He didn't know how to look them in the eyes when it might be his last time doing so. When he looked up at them he realized they were all looking away and crying.

"This is stupid!" Cried out Simon angrily. "Why are you taking this all on yourself? At least let me help you Jellal! I know I can be of use!" "Please don't" He replied, trying to avoid meeting his eyes. "You're being irrational!" Simon yelled. "You know that we'd have a better chance of saving her together! Don't tell me that you're going to risk both your lives just so you can play the hero!" Jellal frowned. "That's got nothing to do with it" "Oh? It doesn't?" Simon scoffed "Y'know I think you don't want me there so that when you get to Erza, you can keep her gratitude and attention all to yourself!" At that Jellal looked up, glaring Simon in the eye."Just because you're my love rival Simon, doesn't mean I would ever act so selfishly. There are better reasons behind what I'm doing!" Simon looked like he was having trouble not rolling his eyes "Yeah right-" He started, but Jellal interrupted him. "You have a sister" He said. Simon looked at him inquisitively. "Yeah...so?" He replied. "So...so you need to live for her, no matter what. She's waiting for you back home Simon. Do you really want to let her down by dying in this place?"

Simon let his eyes fall, looking ashamed. "No…" He remarked, trailing off with his answer. "Then please, work with me here, and trust in my plan. You all have people waiting for you back home; people to live for...I...I don't have that. Therefore this risk is one that I have to take alone. I don't have anyone to miss me if it all goes wrong." Jellal implored them to agree with him.

"That's not true! We all care that you make it out of this safely!" Cried Sho. "Yeah! What about us Jellal? Don't we count as the people who would miss you and be left with regret if stuff goes not-dandy?" Asked Wally. "C'mon Jellal, we all really care about each other here!" Millianna wailed, tears streaming down either side of her face.

Jellal smiled softly. "I know. But...since we're all here together, I know that you guys will understand. I know...I know that you get that I could never live with myself if I don't do everything in my power to save her and bring her back. I...she means...she means so much to me…" He trailed off, crying. The others' tears seemed to multiply as well. "Okay" They all agreed.

So when the guard came in to serve the prisoners their daily morsels of stale bread, Jellal gave a nod to his comrades, snuck up behind the guard, grabbed ahold of his large, thick blade, and whacked him over the head before he'd had the chance to respond. Falling to the floor, Jellal said "Wish me luck" to his friends, and dashed out the cell, trying as hard as he could to make no noise.

_Time to save Erza. _He thought to himself, focusing on his resolve to do whatever he could to make sure that both of them made it back alright.


	7. Rescue

_A/N: Hey all. I am so very sorry for not updating sooner. Life has been pretty hectic these past weeks with work/school/trying to have a social life. The time off did at the very least give me some feedback on how many people are interested in this story. Thanks everyone so much for the support! (Especially celtic-booty - I've really appreciated your continued support and love for this story - so this chapter's for you!:))_

_I've now watched the ToH arc so many times, I nearly have it memorized :p If you haven't noticed, I use the Funimation English dub for all the canon dialogue in this fic. It can get tiring, but I feel it conveys what I want better. Now, this may prove to be an issue later on as all the flashbacks in the 2014 anime are changed from the first series, but I'm just going to ignore that and keep it this way, so if you notice that this scene doesn't match the flashback in the newest dubs, that's why._

_Anyways, here's the next instalment that took so much time. I am glad to have gotten some other jerza works under my belt, but I really feel I haven't given this story enough love. I shall try to be more mindful of that in the future. It was tough to decide how I wanted to approach Jellal's posession, I hope you guys like what I'm doing. Thanks a million! :D ~ Tortoislume_

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Jellal crept through the halls, making as little noise as possible with his steps. _They're probably keeping her in Sector 8_. He thought. Everyone knew the rumours about where the "punishment facilities" resided. He glanced down at the weapon he was holding. It was a blade, yet had no point at the end. _It's fine, the side looks plenty sharp._ Besides, he had one hope on which the success of his plan depended: Grandpa Rob's intuition. He had told him and Erza that they had the makings of wizards. Putting that together with the information Rob had explained regarding magic; that its manipulation requires dedication and the belief that you can do it, that righteous intentions make magic stronger, and that the more powerful your feelings are for your fight, the more powerful your attacks are - Jellal felt with all he had that if this couldn't unleash the hidden potential within him that Grandpa Rob had mentioned, nothing would.

Jellal logicked what he could about the tower's layout. Their crew was stationed in Sector 6, and he knew that Sector 7 was towards the darker part of the building, only to be entered through the second floor. Thankfully there weren't too many guards posted in this part of the building. _They shouldn't check for the guard I knocked out for another hour or so...but I can't rely on that!_

As he approached the staircase he needed to climb, he heard footsteps coming nearer at a steady pace. _They're not aware of my presence for now. _He hid in a nook and waited until the two guards had walked past. They began to ascend the staircase. Jellal crept forward and followed them up.

When they stopped at the second floor lookout, both about a foot from the railing, Jellal swept forward and swooped his sword against the nape of both their necks. He hit with such ferocity that he swore he saw beams of golden light propelling his sword faster and harder than he thought possible. Both guards immediately keeled over the railing and fell down a story, laying passed out on the ground. _Hopefully no one comes across them too quickly._

He ran through the tunnel that led from Sector 6 to Sector 7, blood pounding through his veins, gushing with adrenaline. _I wasn't hallucinating back there. I can make my magic work. I can save Erza._ He ran as fast as he could, no longer fearful of who he might come across. His barefeet were light against the hard stone floors, almost gliding forward he was so quick.

Somehow, he seemed to be running faster and faster, like his speed had no cap. Seeing a single guard coming up before him, Jellal managed to reach him and knock him out with his sword handle before he'd even been noticed. _This seems to be working. _He thought.

It took no time at all with his pace to reach the entrance to Sector 8. Jellal slowed down, knowing that there were surely more guards here than anywhere else in the tower. _This is probably where those bastards all get their kicks. _Just the thought of them touching, of them _hurting_ Erza made him want to destroy them. _Still, I mustn't get too cocky with my new powers._

Jellal took a long, deep breath before entering the densely guarded hallway. It didn't take more than a couple seconds for the guards to all notice him, but by that point he'd already knocked out four of them. Swinging his blade berserk, he hit and beat any who tried to come near him. One after another came at him and were defeated. Before he knew it they were all passed out on the floor at his feet. _I think I might have killed a few of them, but there's no time to worry about that now._

He rushed forward to the door in front of him. Forcing it open, he entered a creepily decorated room containing a giant lacrima and pole as its focal points. Tied to the pole was Erza, leaning forwards in a limp, lifeless manner. Jellal's insides boiled and he ran towards her

"ERZA!" He cried to her, panting as he reached her. Her hair was covering her face. She seemed unable to do anything other than look at the ground. He noticed how hard she was shivering. _What did those monsters do to her? I should have gotten here faster!_

He put down his sword, hastening to her side. " Hold on." He told her, beginning to work on the knot that bound her hands. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of here." He reassured. As her hands were freed she began crippling forward until he caught her, holding her close as he set her gently on the ground. He felt his heart ease a little knowing she was finally with him again.

That ease vanished when he looked at her more closely. As she lay back in Jellal's arms, her hair had fallen back, unobscuring her face. In the place where her adorable, big brown right eye had been was a bloody hole, only fragments of the lid left over to cover it. He gasped in horror. _How could someone do something like this. She's always been so beautiful. How could someone want to tarnish that?_

"Your eye - " He sobbed, unable to held himself. He leaned down and held her tighter "They've gone too far. What did she do to deserve this? What did any of us do?" He asked the nothingness. _I hate that there are people out there that gain pleasure from this._ "Nooo!" He screamed, sobbing even further, his hands trembling as they held her.

"Jellal?" Her voice was weak, but he heard it all the same. _At least she's well enough to still speak. _"That's right, it's me. You'll be safe now. I'm here with you." He told her, trying to sound consoling.

"H-how will we get out?" She asked, her voice wavering. He smiled softly. "Don't worry about that. I managed to get here because I learned to use magic. I think the odds for us escaping this place have turned in our favour. I believed in my heart that I could do it, and I did - just like Granpa Rob said!" She smiled weakly, still not fully focused after her torture. _I really want to escape. More than ever. Now I know that flying under the radar is useless - we need to fight for freedom. _

Jellal helped lift Erza to her feet, slinging her arm around him for support. _She seems so weak right now. I...I can't think about what they did to her. It would just make me want to kill them all. _

As they left the torture room, he saw a band of guardsmen turning the corner, yelling and and brandishing their weapons violently, snarling beasts at their side. _I'll have to take them all down myself. Erza's in no condition to help._ He set Erza to the side gently, ignoring her pleas for him to run away. _I'm sure as hell not running away. _

The guards and their ferocious pink dog-creatures came at him in a flash, their attacks and yells jumbled together. Somehow, through all the confusion, Jellal managed to fend them back with his blade, using his fast attacks to catch them before they understood what was happening. Though it took all his effort and concentration, he managed to knock them all out on a pile, panting from the exertion. It felt like all the energy had been drained from his body after those attacks. He picked up Erza again and they made their way forward, aware as a shackle bot beeped at them, its eyes glowing red, meaning it was sending their image to more guards.

"Well, there's no turning back now." Jellal said, holding Erza close. "We're gonna have to fight.""...we have to fight" Erza's voice still sounded delirious, but Jellal knew she understood the magnitude of what was happening.

A few paces forward, the ground began to glow eerily, and from it emerged the the heads, shoulders, then torsos of the horrendous beings Jellal had only heard nightmarish tales of, hoping they were only rumours. They groaned as their forms rose from the stone floor. "Oh no...Magic soldiers!" He cried. _Of course. This is the place where all nightmares are real. _

Jellal tried earnestly to fend off the creepy, gaunt, lifeless beings, but his power was almost completely depleted after fighting so many. Then one soldier opened its mouth and shot a blast of destructive energy at him. "Jellal!" He heard Erza cry as he fell to the floor, vanquished. He wasn't sure how long he lay on the cold stone, unable to move, wavering between consciousness and the black abyss.

Then he heard a familiar voice. _That bucktoothed guard._ "Now this isn't surprising in the slightest. Mr. Hero here trying to be a big boy and save his pretty little damsel." He cackled. Jellal felt dread flow through him at their predicament. "I'm surprised you managed to kill three of our men, I will admit that's quite impressive. Along with all the others you knocked out... I think it's only fitting that you be the one we take to the torture chamber. Aren't you happy? You got exactly what you wanted! We're giving little Scarlet here back to the prisoners - she's an awfully hard worker after all, it would be a shame to be set back just because of a little mishap. Besides -" The man stepped purposefully on his arm, pulling him up by the hair to speak directly into his ear and earning a groan from Jellal. "Us controlling her means we get to control you as well. It's so convenient to know what you're weakness is." Jellal opened his eyes, still unable to move, and watched helplessly as a pair of guards dragged Erza away. "JELLLAL!" She screamed. "I-it's okay Erza. I can h-handle a little hurt. As l-long as you're a-alright…" He passed out when the guard stepped on his face, crushing his cheek.

* * *

When he awoke, he found himself in the exact position he'd found Erza in earlier. Looking around the morbid room, he tried his best to release the ties binding his hands. "I wouldn't bother struggling if I were you. You'll want to save your energy for when we're zapping the life outta ya! Heh"

Jellal looked up and saw the fat guard chuckling, accompanied by his dentally-deformed companion. "...Wh-where's Erza?" He asked, hoping beyond hope that they had just left her alone while he was passed out. "Don't worry about your little crush, she's all safe and cozy in her cell now. Does that make you happy?" The thinner guard asked. Jellal couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Don't get too used to it. We're going to make you wish you'd never been born." The fat guard approached him, smiling. Jellal scowled. _I wish I could see that fat face screwed up in torment._

The oversized ball of lard pointed his staff at the giant lacrima, and shot a beam of electrocution magic directly at Jellal. When it hit him, he had to hold back a scream. _No way am I giving them the satisfaction of knowing they've hurt me. It would bring them far too much enjoyment. _So he bottled it in. The guards sent bolt after bolt crashing into his body, shaking him to his core, but his resolve was stronger than the pain. As the attacks increased, Jellal concentrated on letting them flow through him and dissipate into the floor. _These bolts are still magic. If I can control my own magic, maybe I can find a way to let this flow through me without being harmed by it. _He put all his thought power towards doing just that. Somehow, the bolts began to feel less painful.

The guards increased the intensity of the magic bolts once more, and Jellal began to wonder just how much of this he could endure. He began groaning a little when the stronger bolts hit him. _Concentrate on letting them flow through you. _He reminded himself.

"This kid's no fun - he hasn't made a peep this whole time." The obese guard exclaimed. "Drop the tough guy act or we'll go to more extreme measures like we did with your little girlfriend." Said the thinner one. Jellal recalled the sight of Erza's missing eye and felt his stomach clench. _These men truly deserve to die. _

"You just don't get it. You guys don't realize just how lucky you are to be building the R-System, do ya?" He didn't care which guard was talking anymore, he was too absorbed in his anger. _Lucky, huh? I don't feel that anything in my life has been lucky. From the curse I was on my mother, to seeing her die, to being brought to this hellhole...I don't think I've ever had the experience of encountering "luck"._

The guards continued their little bout of stroking each other's egos and justifying their unjustifiable actions, oblivious to the thoughts pounding through Jellal's head. "It's a special honor, and once the tower has been completed everyone who worked on it goes to heaven." He heard the nasal voice of the bucktoothed guard explain. _A heaven nobody asked for. _

"We're gonna use the R-System to resurrect our God" The fat man claimed like it was proven fact. _If anything like a god were to exist, they wouldn't stand by the likes of you. _Jellal felt the bile in his stomach, and with a rush of adrenaline stated "Shut up you fat pig." calmly, looking at the overweight guard.

"What did you just call me?!" The whalelike _thing_ reacted. "Forget him, we're wasting time here. We have to deal with the rioters!" The thinner man commented, and the bolts began to let up. Jellal let out a "HHnnng!" of pain as the last one ripped through him, but then it all ended, and he was able to feel the nothingness again. He hadn't even noticed the torture while his anger was pulsing through him.

"Rest up kid, we're gonna keep zapping you until you're begging our God for mercy" The bovine man commented as the pair walked out of the room laughing, leaving Jellal alone, tied to the pole. He noticed that his clothes and skin were smoking from the torture, but he was otherwise alright.

He thought over what the guards had said. _Why we're all stuck here, why all those people were killed. All for some being they've never seen. All for something that's just in their heads._ "God? I don't believe there is such a thing. If there was then we wouldn't have to suffer like this." He spoke aloud to the black abyss surrounding him. _If a God is a being like what the mystics back in my village would describe, why would they listen to these kinds of people? Why wouldn't they help a kid like me? _He suddenly felt a pulse of energy. The room seemed to be filling with a red mist. _Must be my imagination. _He turned back to his thoughts. To his people being killed; to watching his mother's chest being ripped open; to being hauled off to this putrid tower and its even more putrid occupants.

"I hate it." He spat, mulling through all the needless torture, suffering, and death he'd seen."Is that so?" He could have sworn he heard a deep voice say. _There's no one in here. It's just my imagination acting up after all this trauma._

He carried on talking to himself. "All of it. I hate them and their God. Everything about this lousy world." _I never deserved any of this, nor did Erza or anyone stuck in this tower. The people who make this happen should all be killed. _

"Embrace your feelings of malice and share them with me. I thrive on dark emotions. They make me stronger." _That's definitely a voice in here, not my imagination! _He thought, raising his head and looking around for the speaker.

"Who are you?" He asked the darkness. The red mist was intensifying, like vaporized blood.

"What amusing creatures," the voice answered. "I'm right here within their tower, so very close to them. Yet they've gone through all this trouble to resurrect me. Just to make me flesh and bone." The voice held no emotion, nor any distinguishable gender. Jellal looked around frantically but could not spot who was talking.

"Show yourself!" He yelled, scared and frustrated. No one walked out into the light radiating from the lacrima. Instead, clumps of what appeared to be dark matter began to cluster before him, sticking together crudely to form a blob of darkness. The form began to grow mystical red lines, like some kind of runes he'd never seen before. The blob grew more, sprouting a head. Jellal felt fear course through him. _What IS this thing? Will it kill me?_

"They may have all the faith in the world, but it's your hatred that allows you to sense my presence." It spoke. Jellal wasn't sure whether or not to trust the being. _Though it talks to me as though I'm an equal._

It grew and grew and grew, now towering over Jellal as his whole body shook with terror. "Jellal, you are a fortunate child. For your have met the God they so revere." _No! No, it can't be. This isn't possible! _His eyes widened in horror as he looked into the face of evil itself.

The entity let out a bout of laughter. "My name is Zeref, and hatred is my very existence" As it spoke, Jellal stared as a strange shape appeared on what would be considered its face. The shape quivered, and widened, eventually ripping open to reveal what looked to be an ancient symbol for an eye. Jellal wasn't sure if he'd lost his sense of fear or if he just wasn't scared anymore. He couldn't close his eyes, no matter how much he wanted to stop looking at that face. The more he looked into it, the more it felt like something was infesting itself in his mind.

He gasped just before the being came even closer to him, and reached forward with its face. Jellal saw it reach out a tendon from the strange eye, and connect with his right eye. Upon making contact, he felt complete bliss. The tendon worked to pump some kind of inky blackness into his mind that felt so _delicious. _With this blackness came knowledge, confidence, and power. Though he felt pain, he felt more invincible every second the blackness pumped into his mind. The red runes encircled his body in their grasp, making sure the entire being could enter his brain.

_I understand now. _He thought. The eye symbol shone before him, even with his eyes closed. The voice that was speaking to him before from the outside now echoed through his mind.

_**There's no freedom in this world.**_ It told him. _He's right. Freedom is just a construct, a fantasy I chose to believe in to deal with the misfortunes I was dealt. No matter where I go or what I do, there will always be restrictive forces working against me. But...now that Zeref has enlightened me, I know. I know that a truly free world can be obtained. I need to bring him back, so that all the restrictive forces that confine our lives can be overthrown by him._

_**I will make your dreams come true. **_Zeref's voice continued in his head. _He has chosen _me _as the vessel to bring about his resurrection. Because of this, I will be the one who reigns in the new, perfect world he brings about. I can have everything I wanted - everything I was denied by fate. I can have my friends, family, and Erza all safe and comfortable once the world is subservient to only me and Zeref. _

_**True freedom lies with me. **_Jellal's imagination concocted images of the paradise he could bring about. He saw his mother, alive and well. He saw the friends he'd made at the tower, unscathed and happy, thanking him for saving them. Finally, he saw Erza, rushing into his arms, telling him that he meant everything to her, that she would do anything for him, that she loved him. His mind felt lighter than it ever had and he couldn't help the smile forming on his face. _I'm so very happy that I've been chosen. I know now, that some must die to bring this world about. It's all for the greater good; that's just part of life. I must cleanse the world of those who taint it._

He passed out while the parasitic entity implanted itself further into his brain. It surrounded the part of his mind that held his senses of guilt and rationality, and blocked them from the rest. Jellal had never slept so blissfully, dreaming of the heaven that he would build and rule.


	8. Just Stay

_Oh me oh my, how these first few weeks of school have been packed. This update took much longer than I'd hoped, but I suppose that's life when you try to balance school/work/friends while moonlighting as a FF author :p_

_Hope you guys enjoy the chapter, it took me awhile to edit it to something that I somewhat enjoyed without being too cheesy (but still cheesy enough, I am a big cheese fan after all.)_

_Hopefully the upcoming chapters will be easier to write as I won't have to watch the episode 10 billion times to get the schematics right. _

_Mashima owns these characters (I'd be shocked if you thought otherwise)_

_Have fun jerza lovers :3_

_~TortoisLume_

* * *

Jellal's dreams of the world he would create developed further; how he would rule, what he would command, and who wouldn't belong. _The heretics that run this place should be the first to go. _He thought.

_I'll officially rename this place the Tower of Heaven to remind me of my goal. I will attain paradise and rule. _

He'd already decided that Erza would be his queen; it wasn't even a question really. Their love would prevail, they would be a family, and Jellal would be able to say and do all the things he'd held back before because he was nervous of rejection. _She will surely be a magnificent queen. She's beautiful, majestic, and her love for me will grow and grow. She'll be all mine. _

In his unconscious state, he heard the voice of that fat man who had taken such pleasure in tormenting him. "Uh-oh, they're revolting! What are we gonna do?" he cried. _He sounds so pathetic. "_Run for it!" cried his accomplice. _They really are cowards. _He heard some commotion nearby, but was not yet strong enough to look up. Zeref's enlightenment had taken its toll on him. He heard footsteps, then the sound of metal.

"Let's not do anything hasty" Said the voice of the bucktoothed fellow. "It's not our fault; we were just following orders!" The fat one continued.

"Out of my way!" Came the voice of his dreams. _Erza. _He thought fondly. _She's come to save me. She wants to be with me. _He heard a clang of swords, and the guards falling to the side. He heard her footsteps rushing towards him. "I'm here to save you!" She told him, and he felt his heart warm. _I can't wait for us to work together for our paradise. Once she learns of Zeref and all he has to offer, we can finally have the life we've always deserved. _Though he was still too weak to move much, he felt her sword cut through his hand bindings. "Everything's gonna be okay. You're safe now." She said soothingly. He began to fall to the floor without the bindings to hold him up.

Erza caught him gently and lowered him down. "We fought them just like you said we should. Everyone was so brave." _Perfect. She's already begun to work towards our future._ "Simon ended up getting himself hurt pretty bad, and Grandpa Rob saved my life, but he didn't make it." Jellal felt nothing but a pang of annoyance at Simon's name. _Why does she have to care so much about what happened to him? This stuff is bound to happen._ "But we beat them, we fought for our freedom and we won!" He felt relief flood him. _Finally, those deplorable bastards have been overthrown. Erza did well to accomplish this. _ "C'mon, we've gotta meet Wally and the others. They found some boats so we're going to leave this place for good!" She sounded so cheerful. _She doesn't understand yet the importance of staying here. Not to worry though, once she knows it is my dream to complete the tower and bring back Zeref, she'll surely come around. _

He leaned forward towards her, and encircled his arms around her, relishing how she felt. He took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of her hair. "There's no reason for you to leave the tower, because true freedom is right here with me." He held on tighter as she made a squeaky noise. "U-uhm, Jellal? What are you talking about?"

He didn't let go. He ran his hands down the length of her back towards her waist, feeling excitement rush through him at their proximity. "Don't worry Erza, I have it all figured out." He drew his head back, looking into her face with his arms still around her. He couldn't help glancing down at her lips briefly.

"All this time...the people that have been forcing us to build this tower...they never understood what they were doing. But _I _understand. That's why we should stay here. I have so much I want to share with you!" She winced away from him and he let her go, walking over towards the big lacrima. _She just doesn't understand the full situation yet. _

"But I thought you wanted to get out of here too?! This is our chance at freedom!" She cried, evidently distraught by the idea of him staying. _She loves me. Of course she does. We are meant for one another. _

"Don't you see? There's no freedom in this world." He began releasing magical energy, emitting the red mist that signified Zeref's power. "Those fools who built this may not hold you prisoner anymore, But you haven't experienced true freedom." He felt Zeref activate in his mind, working together with him to show Erza his newfound strength. "Because that can only be found..." His eye dilated into the ancient symbol Zeref had shown him. "...In Zeref's world."

Suddenly, with the surge of power Zeref's presence inside him brought, he began to feel insufferably hot. He took his shirt in his hands and tore it, throwing the remnants asunder. "Now I understand why they made us work so hard on this tower. They believe they could use it to resurrect Zeref." He walked around, finding the man with oversized teeth cowering on the floor like some worthless half-dead animal. "You claim to be such devout followers, but you couldn't even sense your god's presence here, could you?" He grabbed the man by his collar, lifting him easily with one hand and marvelling at the fact that he ever felt fear around such a feeble being. "This tower belongs to me now. I will finish its construction and bring Zeref back to life!" With a rush of magic, he propelled the bucktoothed bastard around the room, finally smashing his head into the ceiling and letting him fall to the ground, crippled.

He heard Erza gasp behind him. "That's magic!" She sounded surprised. _I suppose she hasn't seen me use it before. She doesn't yet know how powerful I've become. _

He noticed the colossal glob of lard start to run away, yelling "Somebody please help!"

_I don't think I've ever seen anything this pathetic in my life. He should be crushed like the little cockroach he is. _

He reached his palm out lazily, taking hold of the man-whale telekinetically and slamming him against the wall. He fell down, jiggling as he hit the ground knocked-out. "Stop it! You're hurting him Jellal!" Erza cried. Jellal felt a twinge of annoyance. _Why doesn't she understand? This man deserves pain. He took her eye, he laughed at our pain. We don't need to fear this cockroach. I can keep us safe now forever, from anything. We can finally be a family here. _

"So what?" He questioned her interjection. He felt her soft hands close around the wrist of the hand he had still pointed at the fat man. "Why do you care? I thought you hated them?" He asked her, annoyed. _Why doesn't she trust me? I'm doing what it takes to put us in power, so that we'll be the ones that don't have to listen to anything we don't care for. I, along with Zeref, will be a pragmatic and just ruler, for I have accepted the true state of reality, and know now that the paradise I've always sought is attainable._

"You're right I do, but you're being cruel!" She rebuttled. _So naive, Erza. _Jellal had trouble not rolling his eyes.

He pulled his arm out of her grasp. _**Kill the monster.**_ Zeref's voice echoed through his mind. "If you want to sense Zeref's presence you have to focus on your hatred!" He let his disdain for the man run through him. _He's the one that took Erza away. I still remember when he brought me here, how happy he looked then. I'm glad to finally see his face scrunched up in terror._ He aimed his arm towards the fat guard, grasped on to him with his telekinesis magic (courtesy of Zeref), and let his contempt and disgust for the man surge through him, squeezing him until he popped like a balloon. Erza gasped at his action. Jellal just laughed. _Once she understands reality, how the world really works, she'll condone my undertaking._

"You killed him! What's gotten into you?" she screeched at him. _Power. Confidence. That's what's gotten into me._

He snatched his arm away from her. "I haven't changed one bit." He began to walk out of the room, into the hallways where he had been captured before. "I'm renaming this place the Tower of Heaven. Erza, you and I will stay here and finish it together." He felt excited at the thought. _Just me and Erza alone here...working together...I can't wait to explore all the things we can do together. _

"What?" She asked, sounding hesitant. He felt a pang of resentment that she didn't feel the excitement he did. _Why doesn't she understand? We're going to work together. We're going to _be _together._

"Once it's completed we'll resurrect Zeref." He told her. _She should get it. Zeref is the single most powerful entity in this world. I know, I've been chosen by him for a reason. He saw that I was born unsuitable for this world. I experienced these terrible things because I don't belong here - many people don't belong here. The only way to be rid of this world's cruelty is to reawaken Zeref. I will have the paradise I've always deserved._

"Why would anybody want to stay here when we finally have a chance to leave?" She asked him, sounding incredulous. Jellal's heart stopped for a moment. His blood felt like hot ice as he felt it pound in his ears. _**She doesn't consider you as important to her as she is to you. All you've been feeling and planning has been one-sided. **_He clenched his fists hard. _Why is Zeref saying this? _

_**Let her go. She'll regret it eventually. But use the others to work, to create this tower. If you really want her in your paradise, there is a very important role she can play. **_

_What's that?_ Jellal asked in his head. _**Use her body as the sacrifice for my reincarnation, and you'll never have to let her go. She will be honored in paradise and subservient only to you. She will, in all senses of the phrase, be entirely yours. **_

Jellal trusted in Zeref. He let the God take over inside him.

He felt himself move from Zeref's volition, looking at Erza over his shoulder and invoking his telekinesis magic once more. He felt his eye glow red with magic power, let Zeref's magic flow through him, and blasted Erza backwards through the building debris and down, falling so far beneath him.

He walked up to get a better look at her fallen form, standing on the wooden fixtures. _She doesn't want to be with me here? Fine. But I won't let her get away without making sure I am the single most important presence in her mind. I need her to not ever be able to go one day without thinking of me...Zeref wants me to use the others to build the tower, but if she hears that, she'll definitely insist on staying with me, right? Nothing is more important to Erza than protecting her nakama. _

"Fine, if you want to leave so bad then I'm not going to stop you, but you'll have to go alone." He said, smirking. _She has to insist on staying. She has to. _

"What do you mean?" She asked. _She sounds so frightened. _

"There's no way I could finish the Tower's construction by myself, so I'm going to keep the others here with me. But don't worry, I promise I won't mistreat them, I'll make sure that everyone's fed and clothed, and that they get plenty of rest between their shifts. I'm sure Zeref would prefer that I build more hatred by ruling with an iron first, but weak and unhappy people don't make very good workers." He explained. _Just say you'll stay here with me. Tell me it's what you want. _

"They're not going to agree to that!" She exclaimed. He really didn't want to hear this from her. _She should be _begging _to stay with me. I am the chosen vessel of Zeref, she should want to be here with me more than anything._ "Everybody's on the boats, ready to go. They're just waiting for us to join them! There's no way you could convince them to stay and work for you now." He'd had enough of her rubbing in the fact that she didn't care whether or not she was with him.

"Oh, I don't think I'll have any problem convincing them, because I'm going to give them a purpose. Once they learn of Zeref's power they'll happily work to resurrect him." He felt so vindictive he was sure he could accomplish anything if he set his mind to it.

"But none of them would willingly become a sacrifice!" Erza cried. _**She should want to be your sacrifice. It is quite the honor. To be all yours...**_

"It doesn't matter. Zeref told me sacrifices aren't necessary; he' s such a benevolent god, isn't he?" He lied, but he just wanted to prove Erza wrong right then. _That's what she gets for rejecting me like this. _

"Please Jellal...you've got to try to come to your senses." She begged of him. He felt hot anger rise in his stomach. _How dare she try to make a mockery of my dream. I know Zeref will give me the ultimate power. _He felt almost on the verge of tears, but would hold them back as if his life depended on it. _I need to make her feel what's it's like for me to just not care...what it's like to feel like her absence won't make a difference in my life. _

"I could ask the same of you!" He yelled in anger. He let his frustration and rage encompass him and felt Zeref's magic flow again. He grabbed her with Zeref's powers, dark with the blood red runes. He pulled her up to his level so he could see her tormented face properly.

"I don't need you anymore, but since you took care of the fools who were in my way I'll let you live." He lied through his teeth, wishing that she would feel broken at his words. Wishing that the thought of him not needing her would sting. "Enjoy your new found freedom, but I have some rules for you before you go." He tightened the grasp of Zeref's magic around her.

"I can't breath" She barely wheezed out, gasping for air.

"I demand you never tell anyone of this the government found out about the Tower of Heaven I'd be in serious trouble. If word were to get out." He drew her close to him. He reached out and placed his fingers gently on her chin, tilting her head to the perfect angle. He found himself looking at her face, drinking it in.

"Then I'd have no choice but to destroy the tower and everyone inside it. You are forbidden from ever returning here again. Set one foot on this land, and I'll kill your friends." She looked horrified and he couldn't help but feel elated that he had instilled such fear. _Maybe she will still insist on staying here with me to save her friends. Come on Erza, just say it._ He tightened his grip on her chin and drew her even closer to him, taking a moment to breath in her scent. "I figure Sho would have to be the first to go."

"No! You wouldn't!" She yelled in terror. Jellal felt his conviction to make her feel pain amplify. _She's forcing my hand. She could have just said she wanted to stay. No matter, she's just being too ignorant to follow. I suppose the other prisoners will build the tower more quickly anyway._

"One false move and your friends will die! I'll enjoy true freedom while you suffer, burdened by your guilt!" He laughed as he watched her horrified face contort in agony. She was trembling.

She withdrew from him slowly. She looked at him with those big brown eyes and he almost asked her to stay here with him one last time. _No. I won't be so pathetic. She should be begging to be with me. The fact that she's not is a mistake on her part...Besides, Zeref assured me that with this plan, she'll be all mine in the end anyway. I'll just have to be patient._

Before he had time to decide how best to deal with her, she ran off scared.

Jellal realized quickly that she might try to warn the others against him. _I have to stop her I suppose. _

He grabbed her quickly using Zeref's power, and ignored her gasps and screams as he threw her far out into the water. _Towards that land she so desperately wants to see. Enjoy your false freedom Erza. Time will bring us back together. You'll see._


	9. False Tears

**Hi all, sorry for the late update. Things I've learned from this semester: never try to balance two jobs and five classes. It does not help your sanity. On the bright side, I surprisingly got decent grades and now it's suddenly Christmas! So here's a new chapter as a present XD**

**I'm just finishing up a submission (that is very late) for Jerza Love Fest. It shall be multi chaptered and chalk full of lemony goodness – so keep an eye out for it!**

**Thanks y'all, **

**~TortoisLume**

* * *

Jellal stood on the balcony he'd propelled Erza from, looking out over the ocean. The balcony itself was a replica of the one two buildings over that he and Erza had used to sneak onto the high ranked guard's porch. He felt forlorn, unsure of his rash decision. _What if I never see her again? _He wondered to himself. He felt very uneasy at the idea, and suddenly tempted to scour the ocean for the redhead.

_**You are the one who controls both your fates. If she is your sacrifice for my body, after I have drained her lifeforce for my reawakening, she will be born anew, and this time she will be completely compliant to you. Isn't that what you want? **_Zeref's voice echoed in his head.

Jellal imagined Erza doing anything he asked of her. She would stay with him at the most casual utterance of a word. She would go along with whatever he wanted. He would never have to worry about her betraying or not loving him. _She would never talk about Simon again...I could make it so that she never talks to him again, ever. _Jellal felt excited at the idea, imagining all the things that he could do. _I'd be able to touch her...anywhere._ He zoned out, absorbed in the thought for awhile until Zeref forced him out of it. _**You must go to your workers now. Explain to them the situation. We have the means to gain their trust. Just make Erza the villain.**_

Jellal hesitated. He mulled it over and over in his head, but couldn't think of a single alternative way to explain the situation to the others without them turning on him like Erza had. He went over scenario after scenario, but knowing his friends' personalities and the prisoners' mindsets, his options looked limited. _I need incentive for them to stay...How can I communicate to them the paradise we can obtain here?_

He began walking towards the docks at the opposite end of the tower. On his way out, he made sure that there were no surviving cultists, killing a few as he passed them. Such acts didn't faze him, but he felt antsy about convincing his comrades. Zeref quelled the nervousness rising in his stomach. _**Don't worry, you'll find that I can be very helpful in persuading people. **_

When he reached the boats ready to set sail, he called out, amplifying his voice. "ALL WORKERS! PLEASE GET OFF THE BOATS IMMEDIATELY! YOU ARE IN DANGER!" He called out to them. There were sounds of confusion at what he said. He heard one of his friends yell his name.

"PLEASE! I IMPLORE YOU!" He cried out. He wasn't himself sure where these words were coming from. Zeref had taken the reins on his body.

The prisoners began leaving the ships, shrugging amongst each other. "HURRY! THOSE SHIPS ARE GOING TO BLOW!" The prisoners moved faster, and Jellal felt an unprecedented amount of magical energy begin to gather in his body.

Just as the last non-believing stragglers were getting off, Jellal felt his hand hide from the others' line of sight behind a rock, and let the magical energy burst forth towards the ships.

All of them exploded instantly in giants bursts of flames. A few prisoners hadn't yet left the ships, and fell burning into the water. _It has to look realistic. _Jellal faced the crowd that now stood in front of him, looking up at him in awe.

"How...how did you know that was gonna happen?" One of the men spoke. "I…" He felt his face drop into an expression of sadness. "I knew because we were betrayed by one of our own." The people gasped. "Jellal!" He heard Sho's voice, and looked up at his friends making their way towards him. "Jellal! What happened? Where's Erza?" He asked as he approached him.

Jellal gave his friends a grave look. "Erza…" He looked away, not meeting their eyes. "Erza went insane. Her...her magic took over and she started acting crazy. I think coming back to the room where she was tortured set it off." He felt tears beginning to brim in his eyes and slowly roll down his face. _Strange. _He thought. _Lying never felt so natural before. _

He heard the disbelieving gasps from those in front of him. He continued staring down, watching as his tears fell to the rocks at his feet. "She's the one that rigged the boats" He whispered. "She tried to kill me too. I...I only lucked out in escaping." He looked up at his friends, his vision blurry through the tears. _Please, please believe me. _

When he wiped his eyes, he saw his friends staring at him with a mixture of shock, horror, and pity. Then Simon spoke up. "I don't believe you." Jellal looked at him, careful to not let his irritation show on his face. "I understand...it sounds ridiculous, even to me...I just...I just don't know what to do." He broke down crying again. "The...the only reason I escaped was because the wizard – the one they'd been trying to resurrect – bound himself to me. He saved me from Erza." His friends all looked at him strangely, and Jellal felt Zeref exude more magic. It felt more subtle this time, like steam wafting off of him. _**The power of affluence. **_

He looked up and spoke to the crowd. "The great wizard, Zeref, reached out to me. His spirit was trapped here, and it seems he never wanted those cultists to try to resurrect him. He reached out to me because he thought _we_ should the ones to bring him back. In reward, he said he would grant us domain over heaven. He would rid the world of evildoers like our captors, and would let us choose how things should be done. We'd have justice...and most importantly, we'd have freedom." Before today Jellal would have never thought that such a speech could convince the workers at the Tower of Heaven, but Zeref's powers and planning had put him in control, and he definitely liked it.

All the former prisoners cheered with joy, fully convinced by his rhetoric. He stared tearfully at his friends, who all looked at him in awe. All, that is, other than Simon. He was frowning, looking skeptical. _It seems he won't stop being a pain in my ass._

* * *

After a lot of talking and answering questions, the large group of people entered the tower again. Jellal told everyone to find a room they liked and take it. They would be able to customize them when they had a mode of transportation and more supplies.

Jellal had come up with a plan to ambush the next set of boats that would come to the tower with supplies. They would kill those aboard and take everything for themselves. After dismissing everyone, Jellal decided to take a good look around. Most of the workers had run off to find and pillage the kitchens.

He let Zeref take full control of his mind, and found himself roaming up and up and up stairs. Stairs he had never seen, nor knew existed. Up at the top of what was built of the tower was what had been the higher-ups bedrooms. Jellal's feet dragged him to a door, gilded in intricate carvings and lavish gold decorations. His hands reached out, and Zeref's magic unlocked and opened the door with a soft _click._

Inside the walls were lined by endless shelves, all stuffed to the brim with books. The center of the room hosted a tall dais, with a large desk in the middle covered in books and scrolls. He walked to the top of the dais and looked at what was there.

What must be the blueprints for the Tower of Heaven were laid out. Jellal looked at them closely. Though his mother had taught him some reading skills, it had been a very long time since he'd had words to look at. He squinted, wishing he could understand them better.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the words instantly started making sense. _Goodness, Zeref's powers can do anything. _He thought. _**I told you, I will make your dreams come true. I will give you unlimited power.**_

Jellal read the blueprints thoroughly. He would have to go over the tower tomorrow to make sure that those cultists had been doing everything according to this sheet. Once he was done, he looked through some of the books on the shelves. One with a cover of two strangely entangled bodies caught his eye. _Sex and Power_ it was titled. He grabbed it quickly and walked towards a door to his right. Opening it, he found the master bedroom he'd sensed was there. He walked in and shut the door behind him.

The room was ornate, to say the least, with murals and pictures surrounding the large bed. Jellal lay down on immediately, relishing the feel of such a soft bed after countless nights on the hard cold stone floor. He closed his eyes and thought of Erza. He looked at the book in his hand. He'd grabbed it because it had reminded him of the position they'd been in on the balcony, all those weeks ago...or had it been months? Years? Jellal's memory of time passing had been hazy throughout his stay here. _Tomorrow, I'll look for a calendar. _

He cracked open the book. His eyebrows raised at the illustrations depicted; pictures of people entwined together in various ways. They didn't wear clothes, and this made Jellal curious. He began to read a chapter titled _Sexual Ownership. _It showed a woman tied down and gagged with a man on top of her. The text was all about how the female body contained something called a hymen, which was a symbol for her ownership. One could only gain ownership through taking a female's first sexual experience. Jellal flipped to the next page and saw a diagram of male and female genitalia interacting. His eyes grew wide. _Apparently women have a hole for the male penis to go in…_

He began to imagine what Erza's hole might look like, and found his penis tingle at the idea. Afraid that Zeref's presence might appear in his mind at any moment, he quickly slipped the book under the bed and wrapped himself in the covers, trying not to think about the redhead he already missed. He felt angry tear well up in his eyes, these ones genuine, and buried his face into his pillow. He hated that she had just left like that. She could have stayed, and she didn't. Sure, he'd been the one to send her away, but that was completely avoidable on her part.

Consumed in his conflicting thoughts, Jellal assured himself that he would have ownership over Erza some day – just like the book said. Comforting himself with this thought, Jellal drifted off to sleep in the coziest bed he'd ever lain in.

* * *

He awoke the next morning at dawn, long before anyone else in the tower was awake. Feeling Zeref's presence cognizant within him, he allowed the wizard to navigate his body as he liked. His feet took him to the docks, where wreckage from the ships yesterday was still strewn across the beach.

He walked to the end and waited, noticing a boat rounding the corner of the island. _**It's time you meet one of my most dedicated followers. **_Zeref spoke in his head. _**She will be very useful to you, I am sure.**_

Jellal looked with trepidation as the boat got closer. He wondered briefly how anyone had managed to sail out so far in such a small boat, but the thought left his head as soon as it had entered. The girl aboard the boat threw out a rope and anchored it to the dock. She stepped off and faced Jellal, her eyes smiling.

She looked to be about three or four years older than him, with bangs cut straight across her head, her purple-black hair drawn up in two pigtails. She kneeled before him. "Hello Jellal." She stated, and he felt surprised that she knew his name. "I am Ultear. It is pleasing to make your acquaintance." She spoke, raising from her kneeling position to look him in the eyes. "I am a devout servant of Zeref. I will do whatever is necessary to bring about his resurrection, which means I will do all I can to help you, Jellal-sama." She bowed her head to him in respect.

Jellal got over his shock quickly. "In what ways can you help me?" He asked. _Curious. I'm not suspicious of her at all. She must truly be trusted by Zeref. _

Ultear smiled slightly. "You'll find I am very knowledgeable, and more importantly, I have connections that you will need as we bring Zeref's plan, your plan, to fruition." Jellal nodded. "I see." "As of now, your innate power is great, but you lack fundamental magical knowledge. Also, it wouldn't hurt to give your magic a little boost, so to speak…" She trailed off, smirking to herself. "Just what exactly are you getting at?" Jellal asked. He didn't appreciate being left in the dark. "Here" She said, picking up a book from the boat and handing it to him. He looked down at the cover. _Thought Projection and Other Hologram Magics _it read. "You're going to need to learn how to create a thought projection as soon as possible so that you can travel elsewhere while keeping an eye on things here." She fished out another item from the boat, a pair of glasses. "These will help you read faster, and trust me, you're going to be doing a lot of reading."

With that, she hopped back onto the boat and looked up at him. "I'm leaving for now. I'll be back in a week. You must learn to use a thought projection by then. After that…" She smirked again. "We'll take you to the Bureau of Magical Development." With that, she set off towards the horizon and the rising sun.

Jellal walked back to the tower, unsure of what to think. It felt as though she understood things about Zeref that he didn't, and it irked him. _**Relax. **_Zeref's voice echoed. _**She is but a pawn in the game of my reawakening. You will need to use her to achieve greatness. **_

Feeling reassured, Jellal entered the tower as the first few workers woke up. Stretching his arms in the air, he prepared for his first day ruling over the Tower of Heaven.


	10. A Matter of Time

**_Hey all, I apologize for being so untimely with my updates, but such is life. This past while has been very busy, but when isn't really? _**

_**Anyway, it seems that it was the lovely tsukiko-mizukami's 19th birthday this past weekend, so as a special treat I got off my ass and decided to publish this chapter (well, I was sitting while writing it, but you know what I mean). I know there isn't much jerza this time, so I've decided to do a double whammy and publish a fic that I started writing for Jerza Love Fest 2015 that I just never really finished, so keep an eye out for it shippers, especially if you dig exhibitionism :p**_

~TortoisLume ︎

**Chapter 10 — A Matter of Time**

The day passed with relatively little trouble; Jellal allowed Zeref to take over his body once again to give speeches to inspire the former prisoners and dictate what everyone should do with their time now that they were working as workers, not slaves.

Once the people seemed settled in, he took some time to look over the blueprints for the Tower of Heaven. His cross-analysis for how the cult had adhered to the instructions checked out for the most part, though there were a few places where they would have to change the materials used for insulating the walls.

Despite this, there was still one thing that confounded Jellal about the tower's construction: the blueprints clearly stated that around 2.7 billion Edeas of magical energy would be required for it to properly function. _How on Earthland can I produce that much power?_

After mulling it over for a few hours, Jellal resolved to ask some of Zeref's contacts about the dilemma — that Ultear girl seemed to have a grasp of what was happening. Perhaps she would have the answer. _Speaking of which…_ he glanced at the book he'd received that morning.

Cracking it open, Jellal turned to the section outlining how to get started using thought-projection magic. He noticed that this book included the use of darkness magic into its practices. _The same magic that those cult members used…_

_**What those plebeians used was a mere shell of what darkness magic is. Its potential capabilities are far greater than that of regular magics. To become the greatest wizard you can possibly be, you must understand the link between magic and emotions. While some believe that the desire to help others is the most powerful feeling to rely on, they are wrong. The most powerful feeling you can possibly draw upon is your desire to achieve your goals.**_

Zeref's voice finished its explanation in his head, and he nodded to himself.

Without further ado, Jellal immersed himself in the book. Reading and rereading each instruction, Jellal squinted as he tried to take in the information as fast as he could. _Even Zeref's magic can't help out, huh?_ He got up and grabbed the glasses Ultear had handed him. Donning them, he looked back at the page and marvelled at his newfound ability to intake the information at an alarming rate.

Once Jellal felt satisfied that he'd read the instructions thoroughly enough, he decided to try out a thought projection. _Hopefully it's as simple as this book makes it seem._

He concentrated on step one: distinguish the different facets of his personality. Jellal tried to think of all the masks he'd donned with different people; kind, confident, scared, defensive, brash, righteous, cool. _What should I put into my thought projection?_ he wondered.

He knew this projection would have to travel and probably interact with many people. _I need it to be well spoken. _Focusing on the part of him that could speak well in front of others...unobstructed by his fear and agitation that things might go wrong...he felt the entity of magic well up and float out in front of him, morphing into a shape that reflected his own body. He looked in front of him at the nearly transparent projection of himself. "Hello" he said to it. The projection just smirked at him. _I see, I need to put more in to make him whole. _

He thought again of his different characteristics. _I don't need him to be burdened by my lack of skill in lying...I guess I'll give him some of my conviction, and perhaps whatever skills I have in manipulation._ As he thought of his attributes, he felt them appear in front of him and vanish into the projection's body, slowly solidifying his opacity.

Jellal continued to think and edit the personality traits that would be most pragmatic for his projected self to have. _I suppose I can always alter him as I go._

By the time he was satisfied with the set of characteristics that compiled his projection, it was already dusk. The book explained the process by which he could make the projection have a physical corporeal presence, and he was still marveling at the feat.

_I suppose I should go down and eat._ Jellal thought.

He stood from his position, walking towards the door. "Are you just going to leave me here?" he heard his voice ask from behind. Jellal spun around, surprised that the projection had started talking. _I should have guessed. _He looked at himself as the other him smirked.

"Don't worry — I'll bring us both some food." He nodded at himself. "Sounds good." The projection replied.

As Jellal left the room, he experienced the strange sensation of leaving part of himself in there. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could see what the other him was doing. He could will him to move, to do anything that he himself could do. It was both scary and exhilarating.

When he reached the kitchens-area, people swarmed around him. "Jellal!" One of them cried. "We've spotted a boat on the horizon! I bet it's here to bring supplies for the tower!" "I see." He replied.

Everyone gathered outside to look at the oncoming ship. _I have no doubt about it. Time to take them down. _

It took less than ten minutes to do so, using only a small fraction of the magic Zeref left at his disposal. The allies of the cultists were now dead and Jellal and his workers had materials, a boat, and food. Everyone was celebrating, singing his praises — even Sho and Wally both cracked a smile after being so forlorn.

Once they were done getting their supplies organized, Jellal went to the kitchen and grabbed two plates, filling them with food. "Guess you're extra hungry, huh?" He looked up to see Simon standing there. Something about his presence made Jellal uneasy. "Yes. It's been a long day for me." He replied, trying his best to look casual. Simon nodded and Jellal briskly walked away.

Arriving back at his room, he saw his thought projection staring at him and the mental vision he'd experienced from his perspective fused...sort of. They were in the same room looking at the same face at least.

"Good to know we have the supplies to carry on. We shouldn't forget to find the same suppliers for building materials." "Right." Jellal responded. _I forgot I gave him over half of my meticulousness. _

The two then grabbed the plates and started eating simultaneously. Jellal could even taste the food as it entered his projection's mouth. _It's a wonder that he can take on an actual corporeal presence already, enough that he can physically move objects and consume food. It's most likely thanks to Zeref's presence within me. _"Yeah probably" his double said, startling Jellal. He went back to eating his food.

"You should really give me a name — you know, to avoid confusion." Jellal looked up and smirked. "I was thinking the same thing, I just haven't thought of one yet. Not just any will do. I need one worthy of me after all." The both of them chortled.

"We'd better reattach. Wouldn't want anyone here to walk in and see the both of us" he said. "No, we wouldn't" smirked his double. Jellal concentrated and fused their forms back together.

* * *

A week later, Jellal sat waiting by the docks at dawn. Today was the day Ultear had said she'd come by again. He'd told the workers that he would be away for a while orchestrating shipments for materials and supplies.

Sure enough, he saw a small ship on the horizon. _That must be her._

When the boat reached the dock, Ultear didn't bother roping it in, instead gesturing for Jellal to leap aboard. Silently, he jumped on.

The pair stayed silent throughout the duration of the boat ride, though it wasn't uncomfortable. _This is the first time I've been away from the tower in a very long time. _He thought as he looked out at the vast expanse of the ocean. _When I resurrect Zeref, all this will be mine._

In the back of his mind, he was secretly scouring the waters for signs of Erza. He knew rationally there was no chance he'd find anything, but he couldn't help but think about it. _She'd have already reached the shore ages ago, don't be stupid._ He knew that she was still alive — _surely_ he would have felt something if she'd drowned. He had to stop himself from thinking about what she was doing now.

Finally they reached the shore. A horse and carriage waited for them there.

As they traveled silently accompanied only by the _clip clop_ of the horse's hooves, Jellal remembered his qualm with the Tower of Heaven's blueprints.

"Hey, Ultear, do you know of any massive reserves of magical energy? Say, 2.7 billion Edeas worth?" he asked. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "What brings on this question?"

"I was going over the blueprints for the tower, and noticed that I would need that much energy to activate it. What kind of power reserve could I even accumulate that much with?" He wondered. Ultear smiled. "I know of a way, but it's going to take a lot of dedication from the both of us to reach. However, with Zeref's power in you I have no doubt we will be able to achieve it." Jellal looked at her expectantly. "Well? How can we access that energy?"

Ultear chuckled to herself. "All in due course, Jellal-sama, all in due course." She looked out the carriage window. "Ah, it seems we've reached our destination."

Jellal looked outside and saw nothing but a barren desert strewn with what looked to be building rubble. "Is this really where you wanted to take me? What on Earthland are we doing here?"

Ultear exited the carriage and Jellal followed suit. She looked out over the rubble and smirked. "Patience, patience."

She lifted one arm, holding a crystal ball out in front of her and levitating it with her power. "Arc of Time! Restore!" She projected her voice. The rubble and materials in front of them began to rise and form the shape of a mechanical crescent moon. Jellal watched in awe as the demented building repaired itself in front of his eyes.

"Is that your magic?" he asked. "Yes, one of them at least. I like to dabble in as much as I can — something you will have to learn to do as well."

They walked towards the building. Once inside, Jellal looked around. _Definitely not the most welcoming looking place. Then again, neither is the tower._

They entered a large laboratory, full of gadgets and machinery Jellal could only assume served the purpose of 'developing magic'. In the center was a large pit surrounded by cords. Just as Jellal was taking in the various contraptions around the room, he heard the door open behind them. He spun around quickly.

A dark skinned man with white hair entered. "Ultear, my dear, I trust you are well today?" he asked. "As well as I always am, Master Brain" she replied.

"This is Brain, Jellal. He helps out with the experiments here. He's going to assist me in developing your magic to its extraordinary potential" Ultear explained.

Jellal looked at the man. He was large, and Jellal probably would have feared him before the revolt. But now, he felt no more intimidating than Ultear. "Nice to meet you, Jellal. It is an honor to finally meet Zeref's blessed vessel."

"Good to meet you too, Brain. I hope you can live up to your name" he replied. Brain chortled, replying "Very good, very good. Let's get this experiment started with, shall we?"

The two of them began attaching the cords on Jellal's body, then had him jump into the pit, adjusting the cords to suspend him midair. Above him was a creepy eclipsed sun and moon face, grimacing down at him maniacally.

When the two began to tinker with the equipment and a bright beam came crashing towards him, Jellal felt little pain. Perhaps he might have back before Zeref had taken residence in his body, but not now.

After they were done developing Jellal's magic for the day, Brain approached him, smiling. "Jellal, my boy, you did well today. It's rare for me to come across someone who is able to lay unflinching during our experiments...how about I try teaching you some magic personally?"

"I don't see why not." Jellal retorted.

The pair left Ultear to manage the results of Jellal's experiments, walking through the barren landscape as rain began to fall.

"All right" started Brain. "First, I'll let you try your hand at some destruction circles." He reached his hand out in front of him, aiming towards a pile of rocks. A magic circle appeared, shattering the rocks into a fine powder with one explosion. "The trick is to see the destruction you want to create, and let the flow of your magic take over."

Jellal faced another pile of rocks, concentrating for a moment before letting his magic burst forth, detonating the rock pile in one go.

"Very good! You truly are a talented boy. Would you care to try out a more ambitious project?" Brain asked. "Of course." He replied.

The rain was now pouring down hard, and Jellal heard the roar of thunder in the distance. They walked until they came to a cliff overlooking a rock mountain.

"This spot should suffice. Focus your mind, your energy. Visualize the destruction you wish to see as a clear, crystalline pattern and then make it so." Brain instructed him.

"Yeah. I know that." Jellal responded. _Damn geezer, enough with the redundancy. I could do this in my sleep._

He reached his hand in front of him once more, letting his power build up as he envisioned the mountain's destruction. _Let it turn to less than dust. _He clenched his hand, releasing the magical energy.

A giant magic circle appeared in front of the mountain, cracking it from the centre out. Jellal felt his stomach clench as the remnants fell to the ground, large and chunky and disgusting. _There shouldn't have been anything left! _He thought, frustrated by his lack of power.

He looked at the remains of the mountain, strewn at random across the ground, sullying it. _Just like that damn sacrifice room._

Brain came to stand next to him. "And this after a single lesson? Your skill is outstanding. _Walks up to stand beside him. _I'm impressed. You've mastered the magic circle of self destruction in record time."

Jellal almost snorted at the statement. "I haven't mastered it."

Brain seemed shocked. "What?"

Jellal felt his ambition swell, and Zeref's presence within him swell with it. "I need to take it further. To a level of destruction that eliminates EVERY trace of existence."

Thunder shook the landscape, and Jellal smiled. _This is just the beginning. _Brain took a step back, regarding him with admiration.

_It's all just a matter of time._


End file.
